Fu Fu
by MultiplePersonas
Summary: Marinette's superstitious cousin is visiting from Shanghai. When she becomes convinced she's cursed, Hawk Moth akumatizes her into Fu Fu, the luckiest akuma ever! Can Ladybug and Cat Noir reverse this misfortune?
1. Chapter 1

**PA2: Guess who's back?**

_MP: Back again. Shady's back, tell a friend!...does anybody remember that song?_

**PA2: Probably, but I'm not that much of a Eminem fan. Anyway, not important. Welcome to our next Ladybug fic!**

_MP: This one spent a long time in production, but is actually older than our other project, Olympian Journey. By the way, read and review Olympian Journey._

**PA2: Must we continue to shill? Anyway, you know the drill. Miraculous Ladybug is the property of Thomas Astruc and Zagtoon Entertainment, the only things we own are our original characters and our plot.**

_MP: Until the day we can sell out for cash money!_

**PA2: Always good to have dreams. Without further ado, enjoy!**

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**Fu Fu:**

**A Miraculous Ladybug Fic**

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**Chapter One**

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"How's your room coming, Marinette?" Sabine called from downstairs. "Have you vacuumed everywhere? Even under the bed?"

"Yes, mom!" Marinette shouted back, wiping the sweat from her brow. She was an attractive teenaged half-Chinese girl with sparkling blue eyes and a sweet smile. The downside of having an attic bedroom was the need to carry everything up a staircase, so she always had to be extra thorough with the vacuum before she took it down. But it wasn't often that they had guests, and her mom insisted on having a clean house.

"Good! And the sheets?"

"Freshly changed!"

"That's great, Marinette! Come downstairs for some lunch, and then we'll get to work on the kitchen!"

Marinette sighed and finally allowed herself to slouch.

"Your mom sure is worked up, isn't she?" came a voice from Marinette's purse. A tiny creature flitted out, a strange mix of ladybug and fairy, with a disproportionately large head and enormous blue eyes.

"Can you blame her, Tikki?" Marinette replied. "She hasn't seen her cousin since before I was born, and we've already had two family visits ruined by - well, you know."

"It all worked out in the end, didn't it?" Tikki asked.

"Yes, but not until my great uncle tried to turn Chloe into soup," Marinette said, sighing. "And then Befana turned half my class into coal. Besides, my mom had a tough time convincing her cousin to come at all."

"Why? Was there some sort of falling out?"

"No, they're as close as ever. But she has a daughter around my age, and from what I've heard, she's very fragile. She was worried about her making such a huge trip, especially when she can't really speak the language," Marinette said.

"Well, at least your mom will be able to translate for you instead of that app," Tikki replied, giggling. "But then again, maybe you were hoping that Adrien would show up to help."

"Tikki!" Marinette yelled, blushing bright red. Before she could say more than that, though, she was interrupted.

"Marinette, dear?" her mother called out again. "Are you coming?"

"Yes, mom!" she said, before turning to Tikki. "Okay Tikki, you know the drill."

Tikki nodded and flitted back into Marinette's bag, and Marinette descended downstairs, where her mom had set out sandwiches.

"Thanks, mom," Marinette said as she took a seat and grabbed some food. Her mother was seated across from her, a petite Chinese woman with Marinette's sparkling eyes.

"You're welcome, dear," Sabine replied. "Thank _you _for being so helpful. I'm just so excited! I haven't seen Huifang in person since my wedding!"

Marinette nodded and swallowed a mouthful of food. "Right. Now, how are we related again?"

Sabine rolled her eyes. "We've been over this, Marinette. Huifang is my cousin, on my father's side."

"And she's Cheng Shifu's daughter?"

"No, sweetie. He's her Uncle Wang, too. Anyway, since she's _my _cousin, she's _your _first cousin once removed, and her daughter's your second cousin."

"This is kinda confusing," Marinette complained, resting her chin on her hand.

"I could draw you a chart," Sabine shrugged.

"Nah. Anyway, what're they like?"

"Well, Huifang and I always had a lot in common. I used to visit her in China every summer when I was little. We were best friends. I'm afraid I don't know much about her daughter, though. I've never met her."

Their lunch was interrupted by the sound of a bell ringing in the bakery downstairs, followed by a familiar voice calling "Honey, we're here!"

Marinette and her mother simultaneously jumped out of their chairs and rushed down the stairs into the Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie. When they came out of the storage room that hid the staircase, they saw Tom, Marinette's big, broad-shouldered father, standing there, a smile identical to Marinette's on his mustached face. On either side of him stood two Chinese women, one an adult with a broad smile, and the other a teenager with a more subdued look.

The adult was recognizably similar to Sabine, being around the same height and with similar face and body structure. Unlike Sabine, she wore her hair long, to around the middle of her back, and wore a modest dress with floral print designs. The teenager, however, was much more distinctive in her appearance. While she had a similar facial structure to her mother's, her features were much softer, her expression much more demure, and she wore her bluish-black hair in a pixie cut. She wore a necklace with a gold pendant, in a shape Marinette couldn't quite make out. As if to contrast her features, her clothes were bright and loud, vibrant red and gold covered with images of dragons and phoenixes.

"Huifang!" Sabine laughed, launching herself into a hug at the older of the two guests. Her cousin laughed and hugged her right back.

"It's good to see you again, Sabine," she said, her French clear despite the notable accent. Looking up, she continued, "And this must be Marinette. Sabine has told me so much about you."

"All of it good, I hope," Marinette said, smiling. There was just an air of happiness about this woman that made it easy to like her. The relief of being able to communicate with her didn't hurt matters either.

"Naturally," Huifang replied. Withdrawing from the hug, she gestured at the teenaged girl. "And this is my own daughter, Huiqing. Say hello, dear."

"Nice to...meet you," she said, her French less clear than her mother's. Still, Marinette could understand her well enough. The girl smiled, showing off sparkling white teeth, before turning aside and, to everybody's surprise, grabbing a plate of four cupcakes off of the counter. Huifang, seeing this, sighed.

"Oh, uh, you're hungry?" Marinette asked. "Help yourself."

To her surprise, the girl ignored her, and moved all four of the cakes onto another plate, with four more cupcakes.

Huiqing replied with a string of Mandarin, a serious expression on her face.

"Um…" Marinette began, not understanding what just happened.

"She said, 'Never put four things on a plate. Eight is better'," Huifang said, shaking her head. "Sabine, I'm very sorry about that."

"It's no trouble. We're closed for the moment anyway," Sabine said. "But is everything okay? You seem upset."

"More resigned, to be honest," Huifang replied. "I was hoping that things would be better once we arrived, but it seems it was not to be."

Meanwhile, Huiqing reached into a small pouch tied around her waist and pulled out a pinch of powder. She lightly threw it into the air, and it scattered around the bakery.

"Um, I'm sorry?" Marinette asked. "I don't want to be rude, but I don't really understand what's going on here."

"I'm afraid I must agree," Sabine said, looking at Huifang. "You mentioned Huiqing having some 'issues', but nothing specific."

"That's because I hoped it wouldn't come up," Huifang said, looking down. "You see, ever since a few months ago, Huiqing has become very…'superstitious', I believe is the best word for it. The reason she moved the cupcakes is because the number four is bad luck in China, and she saw having four of them on a plate as a bad omen."

"We're all a little superstitious, Huifang," Tom said with a shrug. "I can't watch a game without my lucky jersey."

"If it were only that, it would be one thing," Huifang said seriously, "but it's on an unreasonable scale. She is constantly looking for import in everything, and seeks to protect herself from 'bad luck' in every way possible. When she heard a dog howling one night, she spent the next morning calling everyone she knew to see if anyone had died. And that's just one example."

"I see," Sabine said. "Well, I can certainly see why you would be concerned. But why didn't you tell me before? Also, what did she throw on my floor?"

"I'm sorry to say I was afraid," Huifang said, a somber look on her face as she shook her head. "I didn't know how you would react, and I've been trying to get her over this for a long time now. I was hoping that a change of scenery would improve her views. As for the powder, it's some sort of charm to repel bad luck. She got it from a fortune teller about a month ago. I truly am sorry for not telling you, and for causing you so much trouble."

"There's nothing to apologize for," Sabine replied, smiling widely at her cousin. "You haven't caused us any trouble at all. We'll do whatever we can to help."

"Right!" Marinette said, pumping her fist. She barely knew Huiqing, but she seemed like a sweet, earnest girl. She was happy to help out in any way she could.

"Now that that's settled," Tom said, "let's head upstairs. I'm sure you two must be hungry, and Sabine has set some food out for you."

"That sounds wonderful, Tom," Huifang said with a laugh as he escorted them out of the bakery.

Marinette was about to follow them, but Sabine tapped her on the shoulder. "Marinette, can we talk here for a second?" she said.

"Sure thing, Mom. What is it?" Marinette replied, turning back to face her mother. Surprisingly, she looked rather concerned.

"I wanted to talk to you about Huiqing. Specifically, about her 'problem', as Huifang put it," she said firmly. "I'd like for you to make her feel comfortable, but I'd much prefer it if you didn't try to 'fix' her, as it were."

"Um...okay, Mom, but why?" Marinette asked, confused.

"Because I love my cousin dearly, but I don't think she actually understands what Huiqing's going through," Sabine answered gravely. "Not fully, anyway. She wants it to be a simple phase, but it sounds quite a bit more serious than that."

Marinette nodded. Indeed, from Huifang's description, Huiqing's superstitiousness sounded like much more of an issue than Huifang made it out to be.

"Is there anything I can do?" Marinette asked.

"Just be patient with her. She may say or do things that seem strange, but try not to call attention to them. She's had a troubling change in her life, and she's coping as best she can."

"Wait, what change?' Marinette asked. "You never mentioned that."

Sabine shook her head and opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by a call from upstairs.

"Sabine, Marinette, are you coming?" Tom yelled down.

"Coming!" Sabine called back up, before turning back to Marinette. "I'll tell you later," she promised. "Just don't ask any prying questions for now."

"I understand," Marinette said, nodding.

Sabine smiled. "I know you do. Now then, let's go. Wouldn't do to keep them waiting much longer!"

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Lunch was a strange affair. Though everybody enjoyed the food, Huiqing never said more than a couple of words, even with her mother's translations. Huifang and Sabine, on the other hand, were carrying on like best friends. They told stories of their summers in Shanghai, of helping their uncle Wang cook, of old friends and pets. Huifang told a story about how they tried to chase down a stray dog that got both of the women laughing hysterically.

At best, though, Huiqing gave an obliging smile. Marinette still wasn't sure how to best approach her. She had an endearing sweetness, but her brusque demeanor and reticence made it difficult to bridge the gap. The language barrier wasn't helping matters either. Still, as the meal went on, Huiqing was opening up a little bit, so there was definitely progress happening. She barely touched her food, though.

When the meal finished, Sabine turned to Marinette. "Dear, why don't you take Huiqing up to your room for a bit while your father and I help Huifang get the guest room set up?" Leaning in, she whispered, "Maybe Huiqing will be a bit more talkative when she's alone with someone her own age."

"Yes," Huifang agreed, also joining the conversation. "Besides, she needs to practice her French."

"I'll do my best," she whispered back, before turning to Huiqing. "Let me show you my room," she said slowly, hoping that the meaning would come across without the need for a translation.

Thankfully, Huiqing nodded, and the two quickly left the table and climbed up the staircase to Marinette's room. As Marinette put her head through the entrance, though, she noticed the collage on the wall and flinched. All sorts of photos of the same handsome, green-eyed boy with the feathered blonde hair and open smile lined the wall.

Frantically, she looked at Tikki, who had poked her head out of Marinette's bag, and gestured with her eyes at the wall. Nodding, Tikki flew out of the bag and grabbed a nearby poster, her usual camouflage for her shrine. As the kwami struggled to move and hang up the poster, Marinette climbed the rest of the way into the room and extended a hand to help Huiqing up, blocking Tikki from view with her body.

Huiqing didn't even look in that direction, instead making a beeline towards Marinette's bed. To Marinette's surprise, she collapsed on top of it with a smile on her face, losing much of her earlier tension.

"Nice room," Huiqing said as she stared up at the ceiling. While her French still had a noticeable accent, it was much clearer than it had been downstairs. "Very comfortable."

"I thought you had trouble speaking French!" Marinette yelled, albeit more from surprise than anything else.

"Not great, but not bad either," Huiqing replied. "Harder when around my mother. A bit…'overbearing,' I think is the word? Better when it's just you and me."

"That's good to hear," Marinette said, smiling, but filing that comment away for later. "So, how do you like Paris so far?"

"Very pretty," Huiqing replied. "Nice to visit. Haven't seen much of it yet, but I want to see more." Suddenly, her face brightened. "Oh, I have a gift for you!"

Huiqing reached into her pocket, and pulled out a small ceramic figurine. She handed it to Marinette, who took a closer look.

"Oh, what a cute turtle!" Marinette said. It was a strange gift, but thoughtful nonetheless.

Huiqing nodded. "Place it on the east side. It will protect your home."

"Thank you!" Marinette said, moving to put the turtle down on the east side of her room. As she did, she saw Huiqing visibly relax, a slight tenseness in her shoulders disappearing. _These rituals really are a huge deal to her,_ she thought.

As she walked over, Huiqing caught a glimpse of Tikki, who after hanging up the poster had settled onto Marinette's desk and sat down, keeping perfectly still. "Very adorable doll," she said. "Ladybugs must be very popular here."

Marinette smiled to herself. "Ladybugs are _our_ good luck charm," she said as she put the turtle down. "And that's even more true now that Ladybug and Cat Noir are here."

"Oh, Cat Noir!" Huiqing gasped. "Have you seen him? Have you met him?"

"Oh, once or twice," Marinette said. On the inside, though, she was grinning. It was nice to see Cat Noir get some appreciation. As much as he annoyed her at times, he was Ladybug's most devoted ally, and it hurt that he was so often ignored in favor of her. He deserved a fan or two. "How do you know about him? I thought he was only famous in Paris."

Huiqing shrugged. "Superheroes are big news everywhere," she answered, her French getting smoother and smoother. "Especially handsome ones. And black cats are very lucky in China."

"I see," Marinette said, deciding not to mention what most of the world thought of black cats. Even if some of her attitude downstairs was a front, her superstitious nature was still very real. She didn't want to ruin her mood with a stupid remark. "Are there a lot of lucky animals in China?"

"Lots," Huiqing replied. For the first time, she began to get animated as she listed off animals one after the other. "Turtles, black cats, pigs, deer, frogs, crickets, koi fish, lions, rabbits, butterflies-"

"Butterflies aren't so lucky here," Marinette interrupted. "Your mom warned you about akumas, right?"

"Yes, lots of times," Huiqing said with a wave of her hand. "Great uncle Wang turned into an evil chef, right? Besides, it might be cool to see a real supervillain in person. I hear it happens almost every day here. How do you handle it?"

"Oh, you know," Marinette said with a nervous smile. "One day at a time. And Ladybug and Cat Noir tend to take care of them pretty quick."

"Ah. Anyway, my luckiest animals are bats."

"Bats are lucky?" Marinette asked, tilting her head. "Why?"

"Well, in Chinese, the words for 'bat' and 'luck' sound the same," Huiqing explained. She was finally animated, talking about a subject that interested her. She almost seemed like a different person now. She also finally realized what that pendant of Huiqing's was: a sleeping bat, its wings wrapped around its body. "They're both pronounced 'fu'."

Marinette's mind flashed to a friend of hers, an old Chinese man in a Hawaiian shirt. "'Fu' means 'luck', huh?" she said thoughtfully. "Uh, just out of curiosity, what does 'Wang' mean?"

"'King'," Huiqing replied. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," Marinette replied. _That explains a lot._ " So, uh, anything you want to do while you're here? Sightseeing? Oh, maybe I could introduce you to my friends-"

Immediately, Huiqing seemed to collapse in on herself. "Don't know if a good idea," she said, her accent getting much more pronounced.

Marinette blanched. "Oh no, I'm sorry! I just thought it might be fun. We don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with."

Huiqing relaxed a bit. "Really? Mother says I should 'get out of my comfort zone' more. That's why she took me here in the first place."

Marinette smiled. "I can see why she would think that. But rushing it isn't going to do any good. If you get forced into something new when you're not ready, then it might just make things worse! You need to go at your own pace. Just know that as long as you're here, I'll be right here with you."

Huiqing smiled, then hugged Marinette fiercely. "Thank you," she said, smiling widely. "And I think I would like to meet your friends. Just...one at a time, please?"

Marinette smiled back and nodded until her second cousin released her, then picked up her phone, hitting the most-used number on the contacts list. "Hey, Alya! Can you meet me at the Champ de Mars? I'm bringing a friend."

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"So Huiqing, you're a big fan of superheroes?" Alya asked as the three girls walked through the lush greenery of the Champ de Mars. She was an attractive, dark-skinned girl with clever hazel eyes behind cat's-eye glasses.

"Yes," Huiqing answered, smiling. While Alya's exuberance had initially made her hesitant, her vibrant demeanor soon broke the ice. "They're a lot of fun to follow. Wish we had more over where I live..."

"I hear that," Alya said, chuckling. "I mean, I could do without the akumas, but the superheroes are pretty great. Anyway, you said black cats are lucky in China, right?"

Huiqing nodded as Marinette smiled at Alya. _Good instinct_, she thought.

"Well, what about foxes?" Alya asked, her eyes bright. "Any cool stories about them?"

Marinette rolled her eyes. _Or maybe she's just trying to boost her ego,_ she thought. Marinette loved Alya, and she was a great help when the situation required for Rena Rouge, user of the Fox Miraculous, but sometimes it seemed like she was _trying_ to get herself found out.

"It depends," Huiqing said, shrugging. "We have _huli jing_, fox spirits, and they can be both good and bad. Overall they tend to be seen as dangerous, but they're not pure evil."

"Oh," Alya said, wilting. "Guessing you don't think much of our new heroine, then?"

Huiqing laughed. "Actually, Rena Rouge is really cool! She's taking back the fox spirit and making into something heroic. Plus, illusions are just awesome."

Alya perked back up. "I know, right! Only wish I could get an interview with her. It'd really boost up my Ladyblog."

"So, Huiqing, how'd you first hear about Ladybug, anyway?" Marinette asked, cutting in before Alya started to out herself. "I know you said superheroes were big news, but they're still pretty local. And Rena Rouge hasn't even been around that long!"

Huiqing smiled. "Actually, it was Great Uncle Wang. When he came back, he told us about Ladybug and Cat Noir, and how they saved him. Started to do some research on my own and got hooked," she said, before giggling. "Plus, Cat Noir has kind of a following. Like I said, handsome superheroes always make news. I hope I get to meet him!"

"Yeah, same here. Always good to talk to our local heroes," Alya replied, before glancing back at the Eiffel Tower. Suddenly, she stopped short.

"Alya?" Marinette asked, concerned.

"You need to see this, like, now!" Alya said, pointing at the Eiffel Tower. Marinette and Huiqing quickly turned and gasped. There, just barely hanging on to the ledge of the observation deck, was a terrified man with a scraggly mustache, recognizably a tourist with his assortment of cameras, screaming and crying for help.

_Ladybug needs to get there, now!_, Marinette thought, before turning to Alya. "Quick, take Huiqing back to the bakery! I'm going to try to find help!" she shouted as she turned to run off. However, before she could, she felt a hand grab onto her shoulder.

"No, don't leave!" Huiqing said, her voice thick with both her accent and her tears. "Getting a bad omen about this! Don't want you to get hurt!"

"But-" Marinette began, before Huiqing basically tackled her into a hug, causing her to yelp. _What am I supposed to do_?, she thought as her second cousin kept on squeezing her.

"Huiqing, don't worry! I'm not going up there, I promise!" she said, trying to free herself from Huiqing's grip. But the girl wouldn't let up.

Just as Marinette was thinking about breaking free, she saw Alya start smiling. "Actually, looks like the situation's taken care of!" she said, gesturing back towards the tower. Marinette and Huiqing looked up, and Marinette breathed a sigh of relief. A new figure had arrived on the scene. Scaling the twisted metal tower with catlike grace was a familiar blonde figure in a black catsuit. With excellent agility, he leapt onto the observation deck and ripped off the belt that blew behind him like a tail, wrapping it around the dangling man's wrist and using it to pull him up to safety.

"Well, that's a relief," Marinette said as she felt Huiqing's grip slacken. Turning to face the girl, Marinette was surprised to see her smiling through her tears.

"I knew it!" she said. "I knew Cat Noir was good luck!"

"Yeah, I suppose he is," Marinette replied, smiling.

"Um, Huiqing? What made you so nervous about letting Marinette go?" Alya asked, ignoring the now completed rescue as she refocused her attention on her friend.

Instantly, Huiqing blushed bright red, letting Marinette go and lowering her face. She mumbled something under her breath.

"Huh?" Alya asked. "What did you say?"

"...Messy facial hair is bad luck," Huiqing said hesitantly, turning to look at Alya. "That's why he fell. Worried that Marinette would get caught in it."

"I...see," Alya said hesitantly. She looked like she was about to continue when she saw Marinette, standing behind Huiqing, frantically signalling her to stop. Alya blinked, then sighed softly. "Well, good thing Cat Noir was there."

Huiqing's expression brightened. "Yes! He's such good luck, he was able to cancel the man's bad luck! He's incredible!"

"Yeah, I guess he is. Still prefer Ladybug though," Alya said, smirking as Huiqing giggled. "So, now that that little interruption is over, where to next?"

Looking at Huiqing, still crying slightly, Marinette said, "Actually, I think we should probably head home. Huiqing, mind if Alya joins us?" she asked.

Huiqing hesitated, then nodded, prompting a bright smile from Marinette as the three girls started heading back to the bakery. However, before they could really get going, Huiqing caught sight of Cat Noir leaping down from the Eiffel Tower and start making his way across the rooftops.

"Huiqing?" Marinette asked, slightly concerned by her fixation on the hero. Then she yelped as Huiqing started running. "Wait, where are you going?!"

"To find Cat Noir!" she replied. "Really want to meet him!"

"Wait, Huiqing, you don't even know where you're going!" Marinette continued as she and Alya started to chase after the girl. "Hey, wait up!"

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Meanwhile, in a remarkably clean Parisian alleyway, Cat Noir landed lightly on the ground. He looked around quickly and, seeing no one, pressed himself up against a wall and held up his right hand.

"Claws in," he whispered to the black ring on his finger, decorated with a green paw print. In a flash of energy, his appearance had completely changed. The person standing there now was an exact match for the photos in Marinette's room: feathered blonde hair, bright green eyes, and a winning smile. Floating next to his head was a small creature much like Tikki, but where Tikki resembled a ladybug, this one looked like a black cat.

"So Adrien, what's the plan? I mean, you sure you don't want to head back to the mansion?" the creature said, its nasally voice almost whining.

"Plagg, you wouldn't be saying that if I hadn't interrupted your snack," Adrien said, chuckling.

"It was camembert! You can't just ditch that for a day on the town!" Plagg complained, shaking his head.

"Look, my dad and Nathalie are busy-"

"What else is new?" Plagg interrupted.

"-dealing with new modeling contracts, and the Gorilla's watching his soaps," Adrien continued, glaring at Plagg. "Take the opportunities when you can!"

"Ugh, fine," Plagg groaned. "But you owe me later! And not just regular camembert this time! I want that rare _pont l'eveque_ that I _know _you've been saving to bribe me!"

Adrien sighed. "Yeah, yeah, okay," he muttered as Plagg flew into his jacket pocket. "Now then, let's see who's around…" he continued as he started reaching for his phone.

"Ah!" came a voice from the other end of the alley. "Cat Noir!"

Turning quickly, Adrien saw a young Chinese girl, one who looked around Marinette's age, dressed in bright red and gold clothing bolting down the entrance to the alley.

_What? But I was sure- _Adrien thought for a split second, panicked beyond anything he'd ever felt, only for the girl to race right by him and look at the other end of the alley, trying to catch a glimpse of the hero. Adrien breathed a sigh of relief. _Okay, she just saw me go in. Nothing to worry about,_ he thought as he tried to calm his racing heart.

"(I was sure he went this way)," the girl muttered in Mandarin, prompting Adrien to blink in disbelief. Suddenly, the girl looked up and turned to Adrien, gasping as she finally noticed him. "Oh, sorry!" she said in heavily accented, but overall understandable French.

"(It's no trouble at all. If I saw Ladybug rushing down the street, I'd be right there with you)," Adrien said with a chuckle, also speaking in Mandarin. The girl's eyes widened, and she smiled back.

"(I never expected to find another speaker here!)" the girl said. "(Not even my cousin knows the language.)"

"(Your cousin?)" Adrien asked, only to stop when he heard panting coming from the front of the alleyway. Turning, he saw Marinette and Alya staggering into the alley, both looking exhausted.

"Huiqing…please...stop," Marinette panted, her face flushing. "You...you can't just...run off like that!"

The girl, Huiqing, looked abashed. "Sorry Marinette, Alya," she said in French. "Guess I was…'carried away', right?"

"It's okay," Marinette said as she started to get her breath back. "I know the feeling. I just don't want you to get lost!"

"She seemed to have a good idea where she was going," Adrien said, prompting Marinette to look at him and gasp.

"Adrien! But, who, why, when-?" she stammered before Alya shoved her out of the way.

"Fancy running into you here, Adrien!" she said, grinning. "I thought your dad would be keeping you on lockdown."

"Well, what can I say?" Adrien chuckled, doing his best not to let his nerves show when it came to that subject. "Anyway, Marinette, this is your cousin?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

Marinette nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

"Oh, are you friends?" Huiqing asked, looking between the two teenagers.

"(Classmates, friends, something like that)," Adrien replied in Mandarin. Alya's eyes lit up in realization.

"Right, almost forgot you knew the language," Alya muttered to herself. Suddenly, she grinned even wider. "Actually, Marinette and I were just taking Huiqing back to the bakery. Want to come join us?"

Marinette made a sound like steam escaping a kettle, grabbing Alya to keep from falling over. Huiqing looked at her quizzically, but Adrien ignored it with the ease of long practice.

"Sounds great! Didn't have anything in particular planned," he said, smiling. "(What about you, Huiqing? Would it be alright if I joined you three?)" he asked, turning to Huiqing. Strangely enough, the girl seemed much more hesitant than before.

But before Adrien could say anything, he heard Marinette start talking. "That sounds like fun!" she said, walking over to Huiqing. Suddenly, she stopped short, her mind flashing back to Huiqing's reaction to the four cakes. Whipping her head around, she faced Alya. "Hey, Alya, how about you invite Nino too? It'll just be the five of us!" she said, wrapping an arm around Huiqing as she said 'five'. Adrien watched as Huiqing immediately relaxed.

"Yeah, that sounds fun," Huiqing said softly, looking at Marinette. As Adrien started walking over to Alya, who was busy opening her phone, she mouthed a quick 'Thank you' to her. Marinette simply nodded as the two girls rejoined their friends.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"You know, if I knew that you were inviting my boyfriend just to pad out the numbers, I would have suggested someone else," Alya said, an aggrieved look in her eyes.

"Sorry, sorry!" Marinette apologized, looking over at the rest of their group. The two girls were sitting on the far end of a table, watching as Adrien and Huiqing had an animated discussion in Mandarin over their lunch. Nino was sitting next to them, a bemused expression on his face as he idly moved his chopsticks from the bowl to his mouth and back again. While the bespectacled, dark-skinned and music-loving boy had met them at the bakery, Adrien had managed to convince Huiqing to stay out a little longer. Hence their finding a nearby Chinese restaurant to eat lunch, which Adrien gallantly offered to pay for. The servers had looked slightly askance as Huiqing sprinkled a handful of dust on the floor, but took it in stride when she didn't do anything else. Soon the five were digging into a family-style feast of dumplings, noodles, and rice.

"Hey, free food and good company," Nino said with a shrug. "I'm not complaining."

Alya, meanwhile, caught Marinette staring and sighed. "Girl, please tell me you're not getting jealous of your own cousin."

Marinette squeaked. "No! I mean...not really. It's just...she's talking to him like it's nothing while I can barely get a complete sentence out unless you're around."

"To be fair, that's mostly on you," Nino chimed in, prompting a glare from Marinette. "Besides, if you want to get involved, you could always jump in."

"No, I shouldn't," Marinette replied, shaking her head. "Huiqing's really enjoying herself, and she needs all the fun she can have."

"Yeah, I get it," Alya said. "From what you've told us, it sounds like she's been having a hard time."

"Yeah, I think so too," Marinette said. "Hopefully this visit gives her the break she needs."

"Break from what, though?" Alya asked, pausing to spear a dumpling. "You never actually said what happened to her."

"Honestly?" Marinette told her. She had barely touched her food. Unlike Huiqing, she'd filled up at the bakery. "I don't know. Her mom and mine just said something bad happened a few months ago."

"And you haven't asked her yet?" Nino asked.

"Mom told me to leave it alone for now, and I think that's for the best. We're trying to help Huiqing have fun, not fix all her 'problems'. I'll find out when I find out."

On the other side of the table, Adrien and Huiqing were still engrossed in conversation, but the mood had taken a decided shift to the serious.

"(So you sure you want to tell me first? Not Marinette?)" Adrien asked. He'd stopped eating, leaving a piece of pork clenched tight in his chopsticks just beyond his mouth.

Huiqing nodded. "(I would have told Marinette already, but I don't think I'd be able to get through the story in French. Probably start crying too hard to find the words. Plus, you're easier to talk to. Marinette's wonderful, but I can tell she's been trying to spare my feelings since we met. It's a nice change of pace, but for this, I need someone more...neutral, I guess.)", she said, shrugging.

"(Well, I'm happy to help however I can,)" Adrien replied, finally taking a bite of the pork in garlic sauce. "(Even if it's just by listening.)"

"(Good. Well, the thing you have to realize is that my parents had something of a whirlwind relationship. They met, they kissed, they got married, all within a year. It was pretty wild, from how they used to tell it.)". Huiqing said, resting her chin on her hands.

"(Sounds like true love to me,)" Adrien said, smiling.

"(Yeah, they thought so, too. But things weren't all perfect. They didn't have much money, they were different religions, their families didn't particularly like each other, stuff like that. But they figured that their love was strong enough to pull them through,)" Huiqing continued, her expression getting downcast.

Adrien frowned. "(And I'm guessing it wasn't?)"

Huiqing nodded. "(Things were fine for the first year. Money was tight, but they made do, even when I came along. But time got the better of them. It was little things at first; an argument here, a night spent out there, but they started to add up as the years went by. They were managing, but things got worse when Dad lost his job a few years ago. He found another eventually, but the damage was done. Whatever had gotten them together couldn't withstand the stress. By the time I was ten, they were having 'strong discussions' every other night. Those turned into fights by the time I was twelve. And last year…)".

"(Full blown screaming?)" Adrien asked.

"(I could hardly sleep, they were so loud,)" Huiqing said, starting to tear up a bit. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "(By a few months ago, Dad was away on 'business' every other week, and even when he _was_ home, the arguing was constant. They weren't even trying to fix it; they were just waiting for the other one to break. Finally, they had the mother of all fights, the worst one yet. I tried to hide in my room, but I had to come out eventually. And right as I did, I watched as Dad hit Mom in the face with a broom, looking as angry as I'd ever seen him. It was the brush end, but I could see him winding up for another swing when I walked into the room. He took one look at me, dropped it, and stormed out, swearing that he was never coming back.)

The tears were flowing in earnest now, and Huiqing's voice was getting choked up. Still, she kept talking, the words pouring out of her.

"(That night, I tried to sleep, but barely could. I woke up at nearly 5 in the morning, screaming from a nightmare. I don't remember the whole thing, just that it had teeth in it. Lots and lots of teeth)." she continued. At Adrien's confused look, she said, "(It's an omen of parental death. I ran to my mom's room, and when I saw her breathing, I curled up next to her. I think I may have fallen back to sleep; I'm not sure. Everything from the nightmare on is a blur. The next thing I remember is sitting in the kitchen the next day when the police officer knocked on our door. Mom knew it was about Dad, but she thought he'd just gotten arrested, even hoped it was the break she needed for a good alimony case. But she needn't have worried. At 4:44 that morning, Dad had been hit by a car. He never made it to the hospital)".

Adrien put a hand over Huiqing's hand, but she shook it off.

"(Credit to my mom, she didn't celebrate. She cried right along with me, sitting there in that kitchen. But by the time the funeral had rolled around, the grief had turned into relief, even catharsis)," she continued. "(I can't blame her, though. Those last few months were awful. But I wasn't thinking about that. I was thinking about when he died. 4:44 a.m. Right when I woke up from a nightmare. One about teeth. One about the death of my parents.)"

"(And that's when the superstitiousness started?)" Adrien asked.

Huiqing nodded. "(I'd never really cared before, but now I saw the symbols everywhere. Dad was three years older than Mom. He had hit her with a broom just before he left. He left his chopsticks standing up in the dish at dinner before he stormed out. And not only had he died at 4:44 a.m., but it was the fourth of April. One omen might have been coincidence. Two would have been concerning. But all those, one right after the other? It was too much)."

By now, Marinette and the others had noticed what was going on and had rushed over. Marinette had her arms around Huiqing's shoulders, but the girl didn't even notice. She just kept talking. She also failed to notice Adrien stuffing a cream cheese wonton into his wriggling jacket.

"(I looked up every omen I could, every symbol, every tradition. My dad was gone, but I could protect myself, my mom, everyone I cared for. My mom was fine with it at first, but as the months went on, she started losing patience. Soon it felt like every day was just another argument about how I needed to get over this, to move on, to stop driving my friends crazy with this nonsense. But I'd seen the truth; how could I stop? By the beginning of last month, I was performing ten lucky rituals before I left the house, and I lost count of how many I'd do each day)."

Huiqing reached down and stroked the pouch at her waist. "(The lucky dust helped, a little. It's a mixture of jade sand, crushed bamboo, and ground bat bones. The fortune teller who gave it to me told me it would send bad luck flying out of anywhere I sprinkled it in. I put pinches everywhere; home, stores, schools, anywhere I went. I needed to get three bags of it before I came to Paris, just to be safe)," she said, finally leaning into Marinette's arms. "(And I guess the rest is obvious)," she finished, before her words were finally replaced with sobs as Marinette just held her tighter.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

High above Paris, but not at all far away, a tall, gaunt man with a purple suit and a silver mask twirled his cane as the shielding over his huge circular window opened before him. Light spilled into the room, which was empty save for hundreds of white butterflies.

"Sorrow, despair, fear," the man said with delight. "Such wonderful catalysts for mayhem. It appears that this is _my_ lucky day, to find a target so perfect!"

He opened his hand, and a butterfly fluttered down and landed upon it. The man smiled and held his other hand over the insect, channeling dark energy into it. When he freed the creature, it had turned a sickly black.

"Fly, my little akuma," the man laughed, twirling his cane as the butterfly flew out the window, "and evilize this child!"

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Back at the restaurant, Alya and Nino were staring open-mouthed at Adrien, while Marinette tried to calm Huiqing down.

"Wow. That is rough," Nino muttered.

"Understatement of the century," Alya added before looking back at Huiqing. "She's certainly gone through a lot, hasn't she?"

Marinette nodded. "Sure sounds like it," she said as she kept comforting her second cousin. Turning to Adrien, she continued, "Thanks for telling us."

"Of course," Adrien said, sighing. "I just hope she's not too mad at me for it."

"She was hysterically crying in the middle of a restaurant. That doesn't scream 'Keep this a secret' to me," said Alya bluntly, before wincing. "Sorry Huiqing. Open mouth, insert foot I guess."

"I...it's fine," Huiqing sniffled as she began to rub her eyes with her sleeve. "Just...sorry you had to see that."

"Don't be sorry, Huiqing," Marinette said. "But do you feel any better?"

"...Some," Huiqing replied. "Felt...good to tell the whole story. Like...a release."

"Yeah, makes sense. Keeping all that emotion bottled up can't have been good," said Nino. The others looked at him, a little surprised. Nino was a great person, but not usually that thoughtful. "I swear, I get no respect around here," he scoffed, prompting a giggle from Huiqing.

"He's right," she said, straightening up and gently extracting herself from Marinette's embrace. "Been keeping all that locked up for months now. Better to have it out in the open."

"That's good to hear," Adrien said, smiling at Huiqing as she continued to collect herself.

Just outside the restaurant, the black butterfly paused in its flight for a moment before starting to lazily flutter around in circles.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"No!" the man in purple snarled. "The emotions are weakening! Wallow in your anguish, child! Let the tears flow!"

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"So, one thing I don't get," Adrien pointed out as Huiqing recovered. "If you're so interested in lucky charms, why were you chasing after Cat Noir? I thought black cats being bad luck was universal. Were you just hoping he'd lead you to Ladybug?"

Marinette winced, but Huiqing just shook her head, smiling. "Not in China. Over there, black cats are very good luck, and those are the omens I care about. Besides...you know...he's cute…" she trailed off, blushing.

Adrien blushed too, for an entirely different reason. _Well, that's an ego booster_, he thought as he felt Plagg laughing in his jacket pocket, _but I'm glad I didn't run into her. I already have too many ladies in my life_.

"What's the matter, bro?" Nino asked, snickering. "Jealous of Cat Noir's game?"

As the table burst into laughter, a server came by holding a check. Adrien, his face bright red, gestured at the man, who deposited the check into his hands. Adrien took one look at it, and his face went white.

"What's wrong?" Alya asked, the entire table staring at him.

"Nothing!" he shouted, slamming the bill down on the table. "Just...um-"

"If it's more than you thought, we can chip in," Alya offered.

"No, it's fine!" Adrien said, still cagey.

"Really? How much is it?" Huiqing asked, leaning over to take a closer look.

Immediately, Adrien slapped his hand over the bill, trying to hide it. "Don't worry about it! It's just-"

But it didn't matter. Huiqing had taken one glance at the check and started to shiver, her eyes wide and fearful.

"Huiqing, are you okay?" Marinette asked, looking over at her second cousin. Turning to Adrien, she asked, "What was on that bill?"

Adrien sighed, then lifted his hand up, allowing the others to see the price. It came to a total of €44.44.

"Oh," Marinette said in realization, before she started rubbing Huiqing's shoulders. "Huiqing, it's okay. We can just order something else to bump up the price a bit," she continued, looking pleadingly at Adrien.

"Oh, absolutely!" Adrien replied, before turning to the server, who was still standing nearby. "Can you bring us something else, quickly? I'm good for it!"

The server stared for a moment, presumably waiting for more specifics, before nodding and retreating back into the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Huiqing was trying to take several deep breaths. "(It's okay)," she whispered to herself. "(It's fine, it's getting fixed…)"

Just when she seemed to regain control of herself, she happened to look back at the table. Immediately, she went ghost pale, beginning to hyperventilate.

"What happen-Oh come on!" Alya shouted. In Adrien's haste to try covering up the bill, he had managed to send a pair of chopsticks flying into the air. They had luckily landed in a bowl of rice, but unluckily landed point first, leaving them standing straight up.

Seeing this, Marinette began gently trying to pull Huiqing away from the table. "Huiqing, it's okay. We can leave if you want to. You're fine," she said.

Huiqing, however, didn't move. Marinette tried a more forceful pull, only for Huiqing to snap her arms out to the sides, sending a plate flying from a server's hands.

"Hey, watch it!" he cried, but Huiqing didn't notice a thing. All she saw was the dish land on the floor, miraculously not shattering. Its contents, a Sichuan-style fried carp, were similarly unharmed, even though it had done a full flip in the air from the impact.

Before anyone could say anything, Huiqing let out a blood-curdling screech and bolted from the table, running out the restaurant's front door in a matter of seconds.

The four friends sat stunned for a moment before Marinette leapt from her chair and ran toward the door. "Huiqing!" she called as she flew out of the restaurant.

As Adrien, Alya, and Nino stared at the door, the first server came back with a plate of dumplings. "For you, sir," he said, sliding the plate under Adrien's dropped jaw before walking away.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Yes, yes!" the man in purple gloated as he felt the butterfly refocus. "Back on track!"

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Huiqing, wait!" Marinette called as she chased after her cousin. After a minute, she finally caught her sitting on the ground in a small alleyway. She was holding her knees to her chest and rocking back and forth.

Marinette approached her slowly. "Huiqing?" she asked.

The girl jumped like a startled rabbit and turned to look at Marinette, her eyes wide with fear. "I...I don't want to die yet….not yet!" she screamed, backing away to the far end of the alley.

"You're not going to die," Marinette said, kneeling down next to her cousin. "You're going to be fine."

"No...bill, chopsticks, fish...going to drown soon. Very soon!" Huiqing cried, her accent getting thicker and thicker.

Marinette hesitated. _What am I supposed to do?_, she thought. _This is a full-blown panic attack!_

However, as she contemplated how to help, she happened to glance upward and gasp. There, fluttering into the alleyway, was a familiar black butterfly.

"Come on, we have to go!" Marinette shouted, forcibly pulling Huiqing to her feet. Even through her tears, the girl was able to see the insect clearly.

"That's an akuma..." she whispered, staring at the creature flying towards her. "It's here...for me?"

"Yes, so we need to get out of here!" Marinette said, trying to drag Huiqing away. "If we can get you calmed down and safe, it can't hurt you!"

But Huiqing just kept staring. "Butterflies are good luck…" she whispered, before roughly tearing herself from Marinette's grip. As Marinette staggered back, Huiqing turned to her and said, "Ladybug fixes everything after villain attack, right?"

"Wha...yes, but that's not important!" Marinette said. "We need to-"

"Good," Huiqing said, choking back tears. "Then maybe she can fix me." With that, she rose higher and leapt at the insect, catching it right at her neck.

Marinette screamed and tried to tackle her, but it was too late. The second the butterfly touched her bat pendant, it dissolved into purplish-black energy which spread across it. As Huiqing landed on the ground, a butterfly-shaped mask of light appeared over her eyes.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Hm, interesting," the man in purple muttered as a similar mask appeared over his own eyes. "But not conducive to my purposes. Let's change things a bit, shall we?"

With a thought, his dark magic had tapped into Huiqing's mind, bringing her superstitions to the forefront and pushing her "wish" to the back.

"There we go. Not nearly as troublesome as Zombizou," he said, smiling, before turning his attention directly to his victim. "Bat Luck, I am Hawk Moth. You live in a world dominated by uncertainty and chance, where the tiniest thing can portend your doom. I can give you the power to make sure that no bad luck ever touches you again. All I need in exchange are Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculouses. Do we have a deal?"

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Back in the alley, Huiqing grinned. "Call me 'Fu Fu'," she said, "and it looks like it's your lucky day!"

"_Of course," _Hawk Moth agreed as the black energy spread over Huiqing's entire body as Marinette watched in horror.

_Not again_, she thought frantically as the energy started to dissipate, revealing Ladybug's newest foe. _Not _another_ family member!_

Huiqing's new form was pleasant to the eyes as far as Hawk Moth's villains went. She was now dressed in a crimson bodysuit, not unlike Ladybug's, but without the spots. Her hands were clasped around straps tied to massive leathery costume wings, which she proudly flared out. Each wing, as well as her chest, was embroidered with a golden "fu" symbol. Notably, her face was now covered by a cowl with huge pointed ears, small eyes, and a big leaf-shaped nose. Her pouch of lucky dust was still clipped to her waist, and her necklace, now black, was proudly presented on her throat. Marinette watched in horror as the little pendant's wings opened up.

"Huiqing…" Marinette muttered, only to jump as the ears on the cowl twitched and the villainess turned to face her.

"It's Fu Fu, cousin," she said, her French now nearly accentless, "and don't worry about yourself. I've got bigger things to worry about right now. This city is absolutely teeming with luck, good and bad, and I aim to take full advantage of it!"

With a cackle, Fu Fu spread her wings and tried to take off. Marinette desperately clung to her leg, but Fu Fu knocked her aside with a kick to the forehead and leapt into the sky, circling overhead for a few seconds before darting into the blue. She was gone just as Adrien, Alya, and Nino ran into the alleyway.

As they reached Marinette, laying on the ground from the blow, Nino looked up at the retreating figure of Fu Fu. "Is that…?"

"Heh," Marinette chuckled weakly, "guess I'm three for three now, huh?" she finished, before collapsing into Alya's arms.

"Still less than the number of people in _my _family!" Alya joked halfheartedly. Hefting the girl up, she looked at Adrien and Nino. "A little help, please?"

"Uh, right!" Adrien shouted as he and Nino rushed off, Alya following close behind. As they headed back to the bakery, the three could almost hear Fu Fu cackling in the backs of their minds.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_MP: Now _that's _how you write a first act! Aristotle would be proud!_

**PA2: He'd also have no idea what we were talking about, but long-dead playwrights aren't really our target audience...yet.**

_MP: Well, let us know how _you_ liked this in the form of a review. Faves and follows are also appreciated. I'm not sure how long it will be, but if I wish to honor Aristotle, I imagine that it would be three chapters. Maybe two. Either way, keep an eye out._

**PA2: See you next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

**PA2: And like the phoenix, once more we rise!**

_MP: Unlike the Phoenix, we're not mostly sun-parched farmland._

**PA2: ...Go sit in the corner and think about what you've pun.**

_MP: And once again I've outsmarted you. This room is circular!_

**PA2: What room? We're a pair of disembodied voices engaging in mildly funny cringe comedy instead of actually going into what people are here to read.**

_MP:...then how did you expect me to sit in the corner?_

**PA2: ...and here's the second chapter of Fu Fu, everybody! Enjoy!**

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Chapter Two**

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Marinette groaned as her eyes blinked open. She looked around her room blearily for a moment before gasping. "Huiqing!" she shouted as she shot ramrod straight on her bed, only to feel a pair of hands on her shoulders.

"Marinette!" Sabine said as she wrapped her daughter into a hug. "I'm so glad you're alright."

"But...Huiqing-" Marinette tried to say, but Sabine shook her head.

"I already know," she said gravely. "Your friends told me what they saw."

"Yeah, it was pretty crazy," came a new voice. Marinette turned to see Nino sitting in her desk chair, looking relieved.

"Nino? You're still here?" Marinette asked.

"Wanted to make sure you were okay," he said, smiling. "Don't think I've ever seen you faint like that before!"

"Yeah, she hit me pretty hard," Marinette muttered, resting a hand against her head. "How long was I out?"

"Just a couple of minutes," Sabine answered, sighing. "Honestly, I was hoping you'd rest a little longer."

"Mom, this really isn't the time," Marinette replied, before turning to Nino. "Where're Adrien and Alya?"

"Adrien said he had to get home; with a supervillain on the loose, his father was bound to check up on him," Nino said. "Alya went to try to find your cousin and start streaming her on the Ladyblog before she started...I don't know, making all of Paris unlucky or something?"

At Nino's words, Marinette's mind jumped back to her cousin's last words before leaping into the akuma.

"...That's not what Huiqing wanted," she said, almost whispering. "I heard her right before it happened."

"And?" Sabine asked hesitantly.

"She said…" Marinette began, pausing before taking a deep breath and continuing, "she said she wanted Ladybug to 'fix' her...then she jumped straight into the akuma."

The room went dead silent as Sabine and Nino looked at Marinette in horror.

"That is...seriously messed up," Nino murmured. "But, and don't take this the wrong way, isn't that good? Shouldn't Ladybug be able to solve this in ten seconds flat?"

Marinette shook her head. "I wish, but you can't underestimate Hawk Moth," she said. "I was there when Ms. Bustier became Zombizou; he found a way to convince her to go evil, and she was fighting him tooth and nail. I think he'd have an even easier time with someone who actually _wanted_ the akuma."

Just then, Marinette noticed a surprising absence in her room. "Wait, where's Dad?"

Sabine winced. "He's...downstairs. With Huifang."

Marinette's eyes widened. "Oh," she said simply. "Is she…okay?"

"No, no she's not," Sabine answered. "I could hear her crying in the other room when Tom and Nino brought you up here. Tom's trying to talk her through, but I doubt he's getting anywhere."

"I think you're right," Marinette said sadly. "It's bad enough when we're _used_ to it. Aunt Huifang's only heard about it secondhand."

"She knew they were likely to run into a supervillain while they were here," Sabine sighed. "I just figured it'd be somebody else unlucky enough to…"

"_Please_ don't talk about luck!" Nino begged.

Just then, Nino's phone started to ring. Startled, the bespectacled boy answered it. "Hello?" he said.

"_Nino, is Marinette okay?_" came Alya's voice.

"Yeah, yeah, she's up. What about you? Did you find Fu Fu yet?"

"_Well, yes, but-_" she started before Marinette, listening in, snatched the phone from Nino's hand.

"Alya, are you okay?! Did she hurt you?! Did she hurt anyone else?!" she asked frantically. If people had been hurt while she was out cold…

"_Marinette, I'm fine!_" Alya said. "_Just...really confused._"

Marinette blinked. "Um...why?"

"_Well...it's probably better if you see for yourself,"_ Alya replied. "_Hang on a sec._"

Marinette lifted the phone away from her ear as it beeped, signaling a new video message. Confused, Marinette opened it, with Sabine and Nino looking over her shoulder.

In the video, they could see Alya's face staring back at them. "What up, Ladybug fans? This is your Ladyblogger on the scene, chasing down the latest akuma!"

Suddenly there was a loud _whoosh_, and Alya turned the camera around to show a pair of brightly-colored razor-tipped kites high in the air. One had sliced through the other's string, and the latter was now plummeting directly toward a nearby woman. As the kite descended, the camera quickly grew closer to her as Alya ran to try to help her. "Run! Get out of the way!" Alya cried, but the woman seemed paralyzed. As Alya came closer, a flicker of movement made her move the phone upward as the unmistakable figure of Fu Fu swept in.

With a quick movement, she reached into her pouch and threw a handful of dust at the kite when it was just a few feet from the woman. Just before the kite could pierce the innocent woman, a gust of wind carried it away to land harmlessly on the lawn. As Alya backed off, the video showed the woman stammering thanks at Fu Fu, shaking her hand in a frenzy. Meanwhile, the two young boys who had been flying the battle kites ran up to stammer their apologies.

"Miss!" Alya cried, trying to squeeze her way through the three bystanders. "Spare an interview for the Ladyblog?"

Fu Fu waved her off with a smile, said something in her native tongue, and then flew away, ending the video.

"...What was that?" Nino asked, shocked. "Did she just...save somebody?"

"_Yeah, I was shocked too,_" Alya said. "_She didn't even threaten me! I couldn't make heads or tails of it._"

"Do you think Fu Fu made that happen?" Marinette asked.

"_It'd make sense, but it doesn't seem like it._" Alya replied. _"She wasn't anywhere near the scene until the kite started falling. Looked like plain old bad luck to me."_

"Bad luck…" Marinette muttered, before saying "Maybe Fu Fu's power is just...spreading good luck?"

"Better hope not, otherwise Ladybug'll have to deal with a mob after she beats Fu Fu," Nino said, sighing. "What'd she say, anyway?"

"She said, 'My work here is just beginning'," Sabine translated, "and that's a little troubling. Alya, is there anything else you can tell us?"

"_Well, there was _one _thing. Take a closer look at the end of the video,_" Alya said.

Marinette did so, going back to right after the tree fixed itself. Suddenly, she paused the video. "What the…?" she asked. It was hard to see, but it looked like Fu Fu's hand was glowing where the woman had touched her. Pale wisps of who-knows-what, barely visible against the blue sky, seemed to flow between the two's hands.

"It looks like she's, I dunno, draining something?" Nino said hesitantly.

"Maybe she's taking their luck?" Sabine asked.

"_I thought the same thing, but it still doesn't add up,_" Alya replied.

Marinette nodded. "You have a point. If she wanted to steal their luck, then shouldn't the disaster have come _afterwards_?"

Nino shrugged. "Maybe she had to use up the bad luck first, who knows? We're flying blind here!"

"Yeah, we are," Marinette said as she got off of her bed, "but not for long."

"Whoa, Marinette, you can't be serious!" Nino objected.

"He's right," Sabine agreed. "I'm not letting you out there with an akuma on the loose!"

"But Mom-" Marinette began, only for Sabine to cut her off.

"I know it's Huiqing," she shouted, "but talking down an akuma has never worked! And she doesn't seem to be targeting you, so don't try to use that excuse either! I know it hurts, but we have to just wait for Ladybug, because she's the only one who can fix this."

_That's the whole point!_, Marinette thought. She was about to say something when she heard footsteps on the stairs.

"Sabine? Is Marinette okay?" came Tom's voice, right before his head popped out of her trapdoor.

"Yes, she's fine. And Huifang?" Sabine asked.

"Still crying downstairs," Tom admitted with a sad shake of his head. "I really don't know what to say to help. Best I could come up with was 'if someone else is akumatized, it's the best time to feel upset'. It...didn't help."

"Shocker," Nino said with a deadpan expression.

"Think you can help me?" Tom said, ignoring him.

"Go ahead, Mom," Marinette interjected before Sabine could say anything.

"Are you sure?" Sabine asked, turning to her daughter.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Marinette replied. "Honestly, I think I'd like to have some time alone right now."

"I can certainly understand that," Sabine said, sighing as she stood up. "Nino, do you want Tom to walk you out?'

"I think I'm good," Nino said, smiling. "You just help your cousin. And don't worry, Marinette," he continued, "Ladybug will fix this. She always does."

"Yeah, I know," Marinette said quietly, before shaking her head and giving a quick smile. "Thanks for helping, Nino."

"Any time," the boy replied as he headed down the trapdoor, Tom having moved a few seconds before. Sabine quickly followed, sparing a last look at Marinette before she walked through, closing the door behind her.

Marinette waited in silence for a minute, then whispered, "Tikki?"

"Right here, Marinette," the kwami answered, flying out of Marinette's purse. "Are you okay?'

"Not really," Marinette said, sighing as she rose to her feet. "But Mom's right. Ladybug and Cat Noir are the only people who can do something now. I just have to hope they stay distracted a while."

"The price of being a superheroine," Tikki giggled, prompting a laugh from Marinette.

"You're right about that," she said, getting up off her bed. "Tikki, spots on!"

With a smile, Tikki flitted upward. Marinette brushed her hair away from her ear, exposing one of her plain black earrings, and Tikki flew directly into it, turning it and its twin red with five black spots. Marinette spun and ran her hands over her body, her standard clothes transforming into a skintight unitard, colored red with black spots just like her earrings. Swiping over her face, a matching domino mask materialized over her eyes. Finally, her signature weapon, her magic yo-yo, appeared at her hip, wrapped around her waist by its string.

As the transformation ended, Ladybug rushed up the staircase to the terrace and, without a word, started swinging her way through Paris. _Hang on, Huiqing_, she thought as she leapt from building to building. _I won't let you down!_

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Seriously?" Ladybug muttered to herself as she looked down at the city from a rooftop perch. It had been five minutes, and she still hadn't managed to run into Fu Fu. "She's dressed up like a giant red bat! Why can't I find her? It's like a major case of-"

Ladybug stopped, then groaned, resting her hand against her face. "-bad luck."

"You rang, Bugaboo?" Cat Noir said, popping up behind her.

Ladybug made a brief startled sound as she turned to face her partner, but quickly calmed herself. "No, but I'll take the extra help," she said, smirking. "Any sign of that new akuma?"

Cat Noir's big green eyes grew bigger. "You knew about that?"

Ladybug shrugged. "That Alya's on top of everything," she said. "I saw that video she posted and figured that an akuma attack was more likely than a random superhero visit."

"Smart thinking," Cat Noir replied with a smirk. "But no, haven't had any sign of her. But it sounded like you were expecting that."

Ladybug nodded. "It hit me right before you showed up," she explained. "This akuma's all about luck, right? Well, what would us finding her be?"

Cat Noir nodded. "Okay, that makes sense. But it also doesn't help us."

"I know," Ladybug groaned. "If we put ourselves in jeopardy, then she'll probably show up, but that'll be an entirely different problem."

"We've certainly got quite a conundrum on our hands," Cat Noir said. "Any ideas? Because I'm _claw_-ing a blank."

"That was a stretch," Ladybug chuckled, shaking her head.

"They can't all be A-list material," Cat Noir fake-pouted. "But seriously, anything?"

"Just the one we talked about earlier. If it'd be unlucky for her if we showed up, then we have to make it the opposite, but without risking our Miraculouses," Ladybug said. "But I can't quite think of a way to do that."

"Well, in the meantime, let's just figure out how we plan on fighting her at all," Cat Noir said. "As long as she keeps up that whole 'hero' angle, it's going to be an uphill battle convincing people she's an akuma."

"Yeah…" Ladybug mused, before her eyes suddenly lit up. "That's it!"

"You've figured out a way to beat her?" Cat Noir asked.

"No, but I've figured out a way to find her," Ladybug replied with a grin. "If she wants to act like a hero, then let's lend her a little credibility."

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

The two traveled in silence as they made their way into the Parc des Princes, the massive soccer stadium in the southwest of Paris where they had fought Stoneheart, Dark Owl, and the Gamer. On a good day, it could hold over 50,000 spectators, but today, with no games or events, it was totally empty.

"So, what's the plan?" Cat Noir asked as they landed in the middle of the field.

"This," Ladybug said simply, before she ran up and punched him in the chest.

"Ow!" Cat Noir yelped, reeling back a bit from the force. "What was that for?"

"Come on, kitty cat!" Ladybug taunted as she moved in for another blow. Right before it connected, she whispered, "Training spar. Try to lure her in."

"Got it," Cat Noir replied as he folded away from the strike, Backflipping into a standing position, he grabbed his staff and grinned. "Oh, I get it. Trying to keep my claws sharp?" he said at his normal volume.

Ladybug nodded as she started spinning her yo-yo. "Yep. No akumas doesn't mean no danger, and I think this is as good a time as any to practice," she said, also speaking normally. "Especially since you have the bad habit of getting brainwashed every other week," she added with a smirk.

With a flick of her wrist, she sent her yo-yo flying, but Cat Noir chuckled and separated his bo staff into twin batons. He caught the string on one, then twisted the other around it. He began spinning the two, pulling Ladybug in. She dug in her heels, but Cat Noir was stronger, and she was pulled ever closer. Just as she neared him, though, she hopped up and aimed her legs forward to kick him in the chest. Cat Noir saw it coming, though, and performed a front flip over her head, then kicked her in the rear.

Not to be bested, Ladybug pulled on her yo-yo's string as he landed, spinning him around for a moment and leaving him vulnerable to a couple of quick jabs to the kidneys.

"Quick thinking as always, Milady!" Cat Noir complemented, reuniting his batons into a bo staff.

"You're pretty 'pawsome', yourself!" Ladybug laughed. She spun her yo-yo in a wide circle, beating Cat Noir back to the distance. He responded by pole-vaulting into the air and flying directly over her, prepared to club her over the head.

"The puns are my thing!" he laughed. "You've already got purifying akumas! Let me have this!"

Ladybug recalled her weapon and backflipped just in time to avoid his strike. "Whatever you say, pussycat," she teased. "As long as you can hold your own!"

She tumbled forward, doing a handspring to fly up and deliver an upside-down kick to his chin, only for it to be blocked with his staff. Ladybug surprised him again, though, using her free hand to bind his legs and yank him off-balance. As he fell, though, he managed to kick out one leg, hitting Ladybug in the chest and forcing her to let go.

Cat Noir leapt back to his feet as Ladybug recovered, tossing his staff from hand to hand and twirling it as he did. Ladybug saw him and snickered, but was unable to say anything as he suddenly lunged at her, his showboating the perfect distraction for a vicious jab.

"Whoa!" Ladybug shouted as she quickly bent back, the tip of the staff just barely brushing her stomach. She was about to say more when the staff jabbed forward again, forcing Ladybug further and further back.

"Impressive, right?" Cat Noir said as he grinned. "A staff's not the best weapon for this, but it works pretty well!"

Ladybug could see what he meant. The movement, the style of striking; Cat Noir's tactics had more in common with fencing than any form of staff fighting.

"Maybe," Ladybug said as she suddenly hooked a leg over the fast-moving staff, catching it with the back of her knee. She was only able to hold the position for a second, but the split-second stop was enough to throw Cat Noir off-balance, leaving him open for a yo-yo strike. "But it gets predictable after a while!"

"Thanks for the tip!" Cat Noir chuckled. He ran forward, swinging his staff from side to side. Ladybug bent back like it was a game of limbo, but Cat Noir was hoping for that. He ducked down to match her and spun, his staff striking her in the shin, but Ladybug popped right back up and wrapped her yo-yo around his neck, then flung him over her head and into the ground.

Both of the two got to their feet, panting and sweating a bit, despite pulling their punches. Ignoring their fatigue, they prepared for another exchange when they heard something from above; the sound of wings flapping.

As they looked up, they saw Fu Fu circling overhead, watching them intensely. Noticing their gaze, she gave a small wave before starting to gracefully descend. The two heroes fought the urge to attack as the akuma came closer, keeping their bodies relaxed as the bat-costumed girl touched down lightly onto the field and smiled at them.

"Sorry for interrupting," she said shyly, "but I've been looking for you two for a while now."

"Oh, really?" Cat Noir asked, tensing slightly. "And why's that?"

Fu Fu also tensed and stared at Cat Noir, blushing. As the silence went on, Ladybug noticed Cat Noir's hands start inching toward his baton, and gave an exaggerated gasp. "Wait!" she blurted, stepping forward. "You're that new hero I saw on the Ladyblog!"

Cat Noir and Fu Fu both relaxed, albeit for different reasons. "That's right," Fu Fu said. "My name is Fu Fu. And it's a pleasure to meet the great Ladybug and...Cat Noir," she continued, offering a little bow. She couldn't seem to meet his eyes.

"Well, nice to see we've gotten _some_ recognition," Cat Noir quipped. "Sorry about that. We don't usually get costumed friendlies in our neck of the woods."

"Yes, I've heard," Fu Fu replied, her voice desperately trying to be serious as her face reddened further. "That's actually why I came. Three Miraculouses are better than two, right?"

"You know about the Miraculouses?" Ladybug asked, shooting a glance at Cat Noir. _This is _definitely_ weird, _she thought. _Either she's really getting into character, or…_

"Not all of them, but the Ladybug and the Black Cat are kind of a big deal in our community," Fu Fu said, turning to Ladybug with a smile as her blush started to fade. "My little Bat can't quite compare, but he gets the job done," she continued, gesturing to her necklace.

"Well, we'd welcome the help," Ladybug said, "but are you sure you want to risk it? Hawk Moth's crazy enough about getting _our_ Miraculouses; I don't know what adding another one'll do to his plans."

"It's a risk I'm willing to take," Fu Fu said with a shrug. "Besides, thanks to my Miraculous, I've got plenty of luck on my side."

"Huh…" Cat Noir mused. "Luck powers, I'm guessing?"

Fu Fu blushed crimson and started nodding her head up and down. Her mouth opened and closed on its own for a few seconds, before she managed to gasp out a "Yes".

"Well, could you tell us more? It'd be a big help to know just what you're capable of," Ladybug asked, stepping in.

Fu Fu relaxed a bit and took a deep breath before speaking, her voice much calmer. "I have a sort of 'sense' that points me in lucky directions; usually places where something bad's about to happen that I can stop. Then I just hit it with my lucky dust and bam! Bad luck taken care of!" she said with a smirk. "Plus, between the sense and these wings, I'm pretty amazing at dodging, leaving villains off-balance so I can swoop in and tear 'em apart," she continued, her voice getting downright menacing. When she saw Ladybug and Cat Noir's expressions, though, she quickly flushed. "Metaphorically speaking," she said quietly.

"Makes sense," Ladybug said. "Care for a little one-on-one action, show us a demonstration?"

"Really?" Fu Fu asked, her eyes gleaming slightly. "But weren't you just fighting with...?" She glanced over at Cat Noir, unable to get the name out.

"Eh, it was just a spar. Trust me, I'm still pumped and ready to go!" Ladybug replied, pumping her fist into the air.

"And I could definitely use a break," Cat Noir quipped as he strolled over to the bleachers. "Come on, let's see what you've got!"

"Alright..." Fu Fu said hesitantly, her face paling as she stepped into Cat Noir's position. "I guess I can give it a shot."

"Good," Ladybug said, smiling. "So ready when you-" she continued before suddenly throwing her yo-yo out mid-sentence. Fu Fu, startled, barely managed to knock the yo-yo off course with a flap of her wings, but it was soon launched again in a flurry of blows.

Beating her wings harder, Fu Fu took to the air, then swooped back down, legs outstretched. She raked a talon across Ladybug's chest, then began alternating swipes of her legs, forcing the heroine back. Ladybug did her best to dodge each strike, leaning left, then right, over and over again. Strangely, despite seeming cornered, she showed no signs of distress.

Finally, after dodging dozens of blows, she curled into a ball and rolled forward, sliding under the hovering talons of her foe, then bounced upward and kicked Fu Fu from behind.

Fu Fu gasped as she flew directly into the goalie's net. As she pulled herself up, her claw stuck in the frame, she heard Ladybug say, "Keep an eye on your surroundings! Where you're fighting is just as important as who!"

"Noted!" Fu Fu replied as she started struggling to get her claw loose. Finally, she beat her wings and, with great difficulty, lifted the entire goal into the air. Laughing, she shook it off and flung it at Ladybug. To her surprise, though, Ladybug simply crouched down as it came down over her, leaving her trapped inside.

"You didn't dodge?" Fu Fu gasped. "Why not?"

"Simple," Ladybug told her. "You can only strike me at close range, but I can attack from a distance." She proved this by flinging her yo-yo and wrapping it around the bat-themed villain's ankle. "All you've done is given me protection."

Fu Fu, seemingly panicking, tried to fly away, only for Ladybug to reel her back in with a deft movement of the wrist. However, Fu Fu's fear turned to triumph as she used the momentum to fly right towards the goal, tearing apart the netting with her claws and getting a harsh blow on Ladybug as she landed.

"Thanks for the advice," she sniggered as Ladybug staggered away from the empty frame, "but I think I've got the hang of it now!" She then lunged forward, her speed almost twice what it was before as she launched another flurry of slashes and stabs at Ladybug. This time, the heroine actually looked nervous as she tried to weave her way through the blows, but she stayed nimble and sprung directly upward, flipping over in the air and landing on Fu Fu's back.

Shocked and annoyed, Fu Fu flew up higher and flipped upside-down, but Ladybug countered by wrapping her yo-yo around Fu Fu's neck; not enough to choke, but enough to keep her in place. Fu Fu continued to spin, but Ladybug doubled her hold by wrapping her legs around Fu Fu's waist.

"Get off!" the villain cried. Frustrated, she grabbed a handful of her lucky dust and flung it in Ladybug's face. Ladybug soon found her fingers slipping from her weapon and was thrown back by a gust of wind. Before she could make it too far, though, Fu Fu caught Ladybug by the hips with her claws.

_Now's my chance! _Ladybug thought, her eyes lighting up. However, Fu Fu seemed to have much the same idea, as she reached over to Ladybug's head, her hands approaching the Miraculous earrings. Simultaneously, Ladybug's hands flew to Fu Fu's necklace.

Just as their hands were mere millimeters from their prizes, Ladybug's yo-yo, still wrapped around Fu Fu's waist, swung back in, wrapping around both heroes' wrists. Panicking, hero and villain alike abandoned their sneaky maneuver and returned to the fight. Ladybug seized her weapon again, but Fu Fu performed an aerial somersault and unwrapped herself from the weapon's magic cord. Ladybug, unprepared, began hurtling to the ground.

Just before she landed, Cat Noir leapt up to catch her and they both hit the ground rolling. When they looked up, they saw Fu Fu looking panicked. "Sorry!" she shouted as she flew down. "Guess I got a little carried away."

Ladybug and Cat Noir exchanged a look, then shrugged. "It happens," Ladybug said as she got up. "Is your neck okay? I thought you might be choking, so I tried to loosen the cord a bit." _Jeez, is that the best excuse I've got?! Better hope she's still committed to her ruse._

Fu Fu hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Sorry I attacked your ears. Like I said, I was carried away." Her expression was sheepish, but Ladybug could see her biting her lip, her eyes furious behind the mask.

"...Like I said, it happens," Ladybug replied. "Just be sure to work on that, alright? Losing focus in a fight can lead to plenty of mistakes."

Fu Fu relaxed slightly and nodded. "I'll keep that in mind. For now, though, I think I better head off."

"So soon?" Cat Noir asked, prompting Fu Fu's face to turn scarlet.

"Y-y-yes," she stammered. "M-my lucky sense is going off, and it's telling me I leave right now. Bye!" she said in a rush before lifting her wings and taking off, quickly disappearing into the sky.

"...So, I guess we'll see you around?" Cat Noir said as he waved. Once he was sure she was out of earshot, he turned to Ladybug. "So...are you confused? Because I'm confused."

"Yeah," Ladybug muttered as she put her yo-yo at her side. "I mean, I know Huiqing had a crush on you, but-"

"I mean, yeah, but that's not what I was talking-," Cat Noir replied, before doing a double-take. "Wait, how did you know that? Did you know her before she got akumatized?"

Ladybug stared at him for a moment, giving a smug smile. "I have eyes everywhere," she said. "But, you're right, that's not the point. You saw her go for my Miraculous, and I think she knows I tried to take her akuma. So why would she keep up the ruse?"

Regaining his composure, Cat Noir replied, "Exactly. Plus, it wasn't like either of you had the best excuses."

"At least I actually gave a reason!" Ladybug shouted, flushing slightly. "But yeah, you have a point. So it's clear that whatever she's planning, she's determined to keep up this hero facade."

"But we still don't know what that plan is," Cat Noir said. "And I doubt her luck'll let us run into her a second time."

At that, Ladybug smirked. "Oh, her luck can't do everything," she said as she lifted her yo-yo from her belt, opening it up like a compact to reveal a screen and keyboard.

Seeing this, Cat Noir smirked. "Of course! We can't chase her, but we can follow the news about where she's been! _Paw_-sitively brilliant, Bugaboo."

"You exposited just to use that pun, didn't you?" Ladybug asked, her voice deadpan.

Cat Noir smirked. "You know you love it," he teased, prompting a chuckle and grin from Ladybug.

"You wish," she said fondly as she started tapping away at her yo-yo's keyboard. In a few moments, she and Cat Noir were staring at a list of local posts, all #BatLuck.

"'Mysterious Bat Heroine Prevents Five-Car Pileup', 'New Superhero Saves Children from Falling Gargoyle'...she sure was busy while we were chasing her all over Paris," Cat Noir mused.

"From what I can tell, it all seems to be the same story," Ladybug said as she scrolled through the articles. "Something unlucky happens, Fu Fu shows up just in time, tosses some lucky dust at it, and the problem fixes itself. Given that first video, it seems she has to actually change bad luck to good before she can use her absorbing thing."

"Not that that brings us any closer to figuring it out," Cat Noir groaned. "None of these stories say anything about the victims suffering from bad luck _after_ Fu Fu saves them, only before. So what exactly is she taking?"

"I have no idea," Ladybug muttered, closing her yo-yo, "and I don't know how to find out. It's not like we'll just get lucky with her messing around."

"You're right…." Cat Noir said, before his eyes widened. "Wait, lucky! That's it!"

"What?" Ladybug asked, before her eyes lit up in realization. "Got it! Lucky Charm!"

With a smile, Ladybug threw her yo-yo directly upward, allowing it to spin in midair. As it spun, a glowing object materialized underneath it and landed in Ladybug's outstretched hand. In a few moments, the glow faded, revealing-

"A stuffed bat?" Ladybug asked. Indeed, the object was a plush stuffed bat, its body bright red and covered in black spots. Perched atop its head was a similarly colored crown.

"A stuffed _king_ bat, apparently," Cat Noir said as he looked it over.

"But what does this have to do with-" Ladybug began, before stopping short. Her mind flashed back to earlier that day, to a conversation with Huiqing. A conversation about translations…

"Wang Fu!" she and Cat Noir shouted at the same time, before looking over at each other.

"Wait, how did you know that?" Ladybug asked.

Cat Noir looked sheepish. "Oh, I, uh, picked up a little Mandarin here and there. 'King Bat', 'Wang Fu', 'Master Fu'. It seemed to fit."

"Well, certainly more interesting than a teapot," Ladybug replied, looking over the toy. "So, guessing we should head there now."

"Actually, you go on ahead," Cat Noir said. "After all, you're the one on a time limit."

As if to punctuate his statement, one of the five dots on Ladybug's earrings disappeared with a 'beep'.

"You have a point there," Ladybug muttered.

"Besides," Cat Noir continued, "Fu Fu has a crush on me, right? Maybe it'll be good luck for her if I found her alone."

Ladybug bit her lip, but nodded. "Okay, fine. But be careful!" she said, before tucking the bat under her arm and swinging her way out of the stadium, leaving Cat Noir alone.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Master Wang Fu had just brought the teacup to his lips when he heard a knock at the door. Sighing, he set down his cup of oolong and got to his feet, groaning slightly from his sore back. Even standing up, he was a very small man, but he was far healthier than anybody would have guessed. Sure, he didn't look like much-a very short, balding old Chinese man with a well-trimmed mustache and goatee, whimsically dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and cargo pants-but anybody would be surprised to learn he was really 186 years old. He shuffled over to the door and threw it open, where he stood face-to-face with Marinette, who was wearing a nervous smile.

"Hello again, Marinette," he greeted warmly. "Please, come in and have a seat."

"Thank you, Master Fu," Marinette said, bowing before him.

The old master, guardian of the Miraculouses, led her to his table, where he sat down and poured her a cup of tea. She smiled and blew on it as he took a sip of his own. Master Fu's own kwami, Wayzz, spirit of the Turtle Miraculous, emerged from under the table.

"Greetings, Marinette," he said respectfully as Master Fu drank. "Are you here for a social visit?"

"I'm afraid not, Wayzz," Tikki told him, flying out of Marinette's bag.

"My Lucky Charm sent me here again," Marinette added with a nod. "This time it gave me a bat with a crown."

Master Fu snorted in his tea. "Is that so?" he coughed. "I never knew the Lucky Charm had such a sense of humor."

"Well, it's apropos," Marinette said, chuckling. "I take it you haven't heard about what's been going on today?"

"Unfortunately, no," Master Fu said. "I gather that you're here for help with an akuma, but I haven't heard anything about wanton destruction or mayhem this afternoon."

"That's because she's aiming for something different, but we're not sure what," Marinette said, solemnly shaking her head. "She calls herself Fu Fu, and she's been pretending to be another superhero, going all around the city solving problems with her lucky dust."

Master Fu blinked in confusion. "I'm sorry, did you say 'lucky dust'?" he asked.

Marinette nodded. "Yep. If bad luck happens, she tosses the dust at it and it turns to good luck."

"Interesting," Master Fu said, scratching his chin. "Why don't you start from the beginning?"

Marinette nodded and told the whole story, starting with her cousin's arrival and leading up to her not-really-sparring match with Fu Fu and use of the Lucky Charm.

"So while Cat Noir keeps an eye on her, I came here to see if you could help," Marinette continued. "Especially since we still haven't figured out what her aim is. I mean, she's taking _something_ from people, but I don't know what. If it was luck, we'd be seeing a lot more disasters around, wouldn't we?"

"Not necessarily," Master Fu said grimly. "I think I might see what she's up to."

"Really? What?" Marinette asked, leaning in closer.

Master Fu groaned and got to his feet, his joints cracking as he picked up a plate of cakes,. "As you know, Marinette," he started, plucking off the cakes and placing them on the table, revealing the yin-yang symbol underneath, "the universe exists in a delicate state of balance between opposites. Law and chaos. Creation and destruction. Good and evil. And yes, fortune and misfortune. Whenever one comes into being, its opposite must appear to balance it. This akuma, however, is seemingly upsetting said balance."

"'Seemingly'?" Marinette repeated, confused.

"Yes. At first glance, she is manipulating the course of fate, turning bad luck into good." He balanced the plate on one finger, then began placing cakes upon the yang side, one by one. "But you say that when she does, you see her harvesting something? Well, perhaps the balance is exactly what she's counting on. By turning this bad luck into good, she harvests the bad luck for later use." As he piled on more cakes, all on the same side, the plate began to tip. He moved his finger around to keep it upright, but it became more challenging with each cake. "If she collects enough of it, she may well bring forth a cataclysmic disaster. What's more, even if she just continues to store it, eventually the balance of good to bad luck will completely shatter, which would wreak untold damage to the fabric of the universe," Master Fu said. To emphasize this, he slapped his other hand onto the plate, setting it exactly level and sending the cakes flying. Tikki and Wayzz flew up to catch as many as they could, and swallowed every one before they hit the floor.

"So either she's saving it up to destroy Paris, or she's saving it up to destroy the entire world," Marinette groaned as Master Fu set the plate back on the table. "Why can't we go back to akumas who just wanted to get back at Chloe or something?"

"Now, now. You know I don't like you speaking ill of that girl, ever since the Queen Wasp incident. As for Fu Fu's plan, I'd hazard a guess at destroying Paris. But I warn you, if she continues to unbalance the universe in such a way, even the Miraculous Ladybug may be unable to fully repair the damage."

Marinette's jaw dropped. "What?!" she cried. "You're telling me that Paris could be doomed even if I stop her?!"

Master Fu chuckled. "I didn't say that," he answered. "I am merely telling you that the bad luck has to go somewhere. If it isn't weaponized, I trust the universe to balance it without calamity through small, relatively harmless incidents. Of course, forcing her to use it up for more minor functions would help that along."

"So I should make sure she uses it on us during the fight so that the universe has less to deal with," Marinette sighed. "This is not going to be a fun battle."

"Probably not, but I think I can make it easier for you," Master Fu said. Walking over to his record player, he used his thumbs to press the eyes of the ornamental dragons carved into the side. Their mouths popped open, and a new panel appeared, one covered with several individual buttons. Master Fu pressed four of them simultaneously, and the player rotated ninety degrees. Its top lifted, and a black box with red designs was lifted out. Master Fu took the box and placed it on the table. He opened the top, along with a dozen drawers around the sides. Fourteen colorful, jeweled accessories were nestled within, each in their own specially colored section.

"The Lucky Charm has never sent you to me merely for advice," Master Fu said with a smile. "If there is somebody you trust to help you, I authorize the use of one or more of the Miraculous contained within the Miracle Box, provided that they are returned afterward. Do you know which one you will choose?"

"Yep," Marinette said, reaching into the top part of the box and withdrawing a necklace in the shape of a fox's tail. "Rena Rouge should be a big help for this. But I'll need Carapace, too."

"Two Miraculous at once?" Master Fu asked, raising an eyebrow. "Not that I disapprove, but you're usually more sparing."

"You yourself said that she's a danger to the very balance of the universe," Marinette insisted. "Besides, Fu Fu is defined by superstition, especially negative superstition. Four is the magic number here."

Master Fu nodded. "A wise decision," he said as he removed the green jade bracelet from his wrist. Wayzz sighed as he found himself sucked into the aforementioned jewelry, disappearing from view."

With a wave of Master Fu's hand, the necklace and bracelet were encased in smaller versions of the Miracle Box, whereupon the Guardian closed the original and placed it back in its hiding place.

"Thanks again, Master Fu!" Marinette said, grabbing the smaller boxes as she dashed out the door.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

The rooftops became a blur as Cat Noir raced across Paris without a clue as to his destination. Chasing down villains and patrolling the city were one thing, but it was very unnerving for him to hope to just stumble upon an akuma. After all, _she _was supposed to find _him_, but it would help if she could see him.

"There's got to be some clue," he mumbled to himself as he ran. An idea came to his mind, and he skidded to a stop. Pulling out his staff, he pressed the green pawprint symbol near the top, and a screen slid out.

"Search lucky numbers in Chinese superstition," he ordered the device. A pawprint symbol spun on the screen for a moment, then listed webpages. At the very top was an article.

**Numbers,** it said,**like colors and directions, are among the most basic of superstitions throughout China. Considered most lucky of all is eight, as the Mandarin word for "eight" (****bā) sounds similar to the word for "prosper" (fā). The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing began on 08/08/08 at 8 minutes and 8 seconds past 8 pm, local time. In 2003, the phone number "+86 28 8888 8888" was sold to Sichuan Airlines for 2.33 million renmibis.**

_That's pretty devoted_, he thought to himself. _Could she be in the 8th Arrondissement, patrolling the Champs-Élysées?_

He thought about it, then shook his head. If Fu Fu was pretending to be a superhero, swooping in to save people from bad luck, then she'd obviously go to a place she considered _un_lucky. He thought for a moment, and his mind flashed back to the image of the restaurant check, and how desperately he'd tried to hide it from Huiqing.

_Bingo!_

The black-clad superhero turned and changed course, pointing himself east, and resumed his parkour, this time with a much clearer goal in mind. He could think of only one place in the Fourth where a girl with bat wings would blend in.

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_MP: A fine second act, worthy of the great playwrights...or at least the decent ones._

**PA2: Hey, unconventional structure can work in the right hands and with the right story. Not really important here, but worth noting for any writers out there. Assuming that people read these skits; again, cringe comedy.**

_MP: Yeah, you're not leaving without telling me how you expected a disembodied voice to sit in the corner._

**PA2: Hey, I'm not entirely used to non-linear space. Guess my thinking was a little boxed in.**

_MP: Look, one of us has to be rational, and it isn't going to me. Now, I'm off to bodysurf, despite being incorporeal!_

**PA2: Have fun! And don't forget to stop in for the third and final chapter of Fu Fu, coming soon! I promise, no more bad puns. Maybe.**

_MP: Remember to fave, follow, and especially review!_


	3. Chapter 3

**PA2: This would normally be where we'd start with the jokes, but today, we have something more important to talk about.**

_MP: Earlier this year, the city of Paris suffered a terrible tragedy when a beloved landmark caught fire. Though no lives were lost, large portions were destroyed. The good news is, various billionaires chipped in to give it speedy repairs (though this seems to prove that if the one percent actually cared about the world's problems, they'd be solved very quickly)._

**PA2: Let's leave the social commentary alone for now; God knows we're hardly qualified. The point we're trying to get at is that the damage done to Notre Dame was a tremendous loss not just for Paris, but for the entire world. And the reason we bring this up is because part of our chapter will be taking place in the famed cathedral.**

_MP: To our credit, we never meant to offend if that's what you get. We planned this story before the disaster, and certain things couldn't be changed. The story itself _did _undergo notable changes - for example, Chloe would've been the main reason for Huiqing's akumatization, making her think she was cursed because she was jealous of the new girl spending time with Adrien._

**PA2: That plot point was dropped due to Chloe's character development throughout Season 2, which made that scenario seem like more of a stretch than it did when we first started planning. But the cathedral fight scene was too tightly woven into the plot for us to remove entirely. Again, our actions were not meant to offend, and we're probably making a big deal out of something minor. But knowing that our story will feature Notre Dame receiving damage and how important and tragic that the disaster earlier this year was, we felt it best to give this disclaimer here.**

_MP: Yes. No churches were harmed in the making of this story. One pagan shrine was, but you'll never know which one._

**PA2: I said no social commentary! I'm like ten seconds away from going on a tangent about the issues with monocentrism as it pertains to invaliding other belief structures.**

_MP: That wasn't commentary. I drove my car into a shrine. Don't proofread and drive._

**PA2: ...Good advice. Anyway, on with the story.**

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**Chapter Three**

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"Paris is all atwitter about its newest hero on the scene!" exclaimed Nadja Chamack. The purple-haired reporter, dressed in her usual smart navy pantsuit, was seated at her usual position against the newsroom backdrop, along with a screencap of the bat-themed girl. "She calls herself 'Fu Fu', which I'm told translates to 'Bat Luck', and like echolocation, rumors are bouncing all over the city! Word has it that whenever misfortune falls, Fu Fu arrives on the scene to fix it with her signature 'lucky dust'. And eyewitnesses are raving!"

The reporter disappeared, replaced by a clip of a young man on the sidewalk. "She swooped down and prevented a five-car pileup!" he raved.

The image switched to an old woman in a park, holding a toy poodle. "Pierre here's leash broke, and she magically repaired it!"

The image changed again, this time to a dark-skinned woman in a white chef's uniform. "A fire broke out in the kitchen, and when she was done, it was like it never happened!"

The scene went back to the reporter, still smiling at the camera. "Fu Fu's exploits are the talk of the town, but she leaves as quickly as she comes. On a possibly related note, Ladybug and Cat Noir sightings are next to nonexistent today. Have they passed on the torch? And just what might the insidious Hawk Moth think of all of this? Whatever the case, this is Nadja Chamack saying, don't be bemused; it's-!"

The report was abruptly stopped by the screen going black, Nino having just pressed the OFF switch on the remote. Looking over at his girlfriend, he said, "Sorry about that. Your mom doesn't know what she's talking about."

"It's nothing I haven't heard all day,", Alya groaned, rubbing her temples as stared up at the ceiling. The report was bad enough, but did her own mother have to fall for it too? Looking back at her phone, she paged through the responses that had been bombarding her ever since her last Ladyblog entry. Fu Fu had only been around for a short time, but she was quick to amass fans. Ever since her first rescue, Fu Fu supporters had been harassing Alya for pre-judging their new "hero". Videos of Fu Fu's exploits had been sent to her, their senders eager to prove their point, but mostly it was just rude comments.

"Anything you can use?" Nino asked, scooching closer to her. "New sightings, suspicious behavior, something useful?"

"Just more hate mail. Ugh, seriously?" Alya groaned as she looked over another message, one which prominently featured the term "h8r". "Look, I get that you're trying to be 'cool', but just spell out the dang word!"

"I always hated that, too," said a familiar voice outside her window. Alya smiled and walked over, allowing Ladybug entry, Nino moving back to the other side of the couch. "I had a feeling if anybody saw Fu Fu for what she was, it'd be you two," she continued. "You noticed the akuma in her pendant, right?"

Alya shrugged. "Honestly, we were just lucky enough to catch her as she was akumatized," she replied. "Otherwise, even I might've been fooled. She puts on a good show."

"Yeah, and she's planning a grand finale that could wipe out all of Paris," Ladybug said grimly. "Which is why I'm here. Alya, Nino, feel like giving me a hand?" she asked as she held up the miniature Miracle Boxes.

Alya smiled as she reached out her hand. "You don't have to ask twice," she said as Ladybug placed the box in her outstretched palm.

"What she said," Nino added as he reached for his own box. "Gotta say, surprised you're okay with us knowing each other both ways."

"Better than all of Paris knowing it," Ladybug said, rolling her eyes. "Besides, it makes handing these out a lot easier."

Chuckling, Alya quickly pulled the box in and opened it, releasing a flash of light. As the foxtail necklace came into view, so too did a bright orange little creature with big pointed ears, complete with antennae at the top. It shook its furry tail and opened its big purple eyes, smiling with delight when it saw Alya's face. "Hey again, Alya!" the vulpine kwami chirped, flitting over to her shoulder. "I'd ask how it's going, but if I'm here, well…anyway, you know what to do!"

Alya laughed and, tossing her phone aside, slipped the necklace on with a practiced ease. "You got it! Trixx, let's pounce!"

Trixx's smile grew even bigger as she flew directly into the pendant. The pendant let loose a bright light, and Alya ran her hands over her face, conjuring an orange and white domino mask. Next, she raised her arms and spun, and her clothes were transformed into a similarly colored skintight suit. A flute materialized on her back. She flicked her hands over her forehead, and decorative fox ears appeared. Finally, she waved her hands behind her back, and a train shaped like a fox's tail billowed out behind her. She twirled and took a martial arts pose, proudly displaying her transformation.

"I love doing that!" Alya, now Rena Rouge, laughed.

"It's pretty fun," Nino agreed. "But now, it's my turn." As he opened his own box, another flash of light emerged, revealing not just the jade bracelet, but also the small form of Wayzz.

"A pleasure to see you again, my friend," Wayzz said with a bow of his head.

Nino smiled and pulled the bracelet over his wrist, then adjusted his hat. "Wayzz, shell on!" he announced.

Wayzz flew into the bracelet, changing its color to iridescent green, and an emerald mesh fabric spread down Nino's arm and over his body. He threw himself back-first on the floor and spun as a turtle shell-themed shield materialized over his back, then popped back up and ran his hands over his head, creating a hood and goggles over it. He ended by standing up with his arms crossed in a heroic pose of his own. "So cool!" he laughed.

"I'm afraid you don't have much time to revel," Ladybug said seriously. "We need to find Fu Fu and stop her before her stored-up bad luck gets out of hand."

At those words, Ladybug's yo-yo let out a beep. Ladybug flipped it open into cell phone mode, and found a text from Cat Noir.

"Perfect timing," she said. "Cat Noir's found her." Taking Rena Rouge and Carapace's hands, Ladybug leapt out the window and began leaping across the rooftops.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Built in a time of ramshackle houses and wooden bridges, Notre Dame de Paris, of the 4th Arrondisement, was a testament to the faith of the Catholic church, a towering monument to God, and possibly one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture, famous for its massive bronze bells, enormous rose windows, and elaborately sculpted gargoyles. Following his hunch, Cat Noir made his way to the famous church and slowly scoped it out. After a few minutes, he sighed and entered a high tower, then took a seat beside the largest bell, the bourdon nicknamed Emmanuel.

Looking up, he chuckled and announced upward, "You can come out now. It's just me."

With absolute silence, Fu Fu dropped down from her upside-down perch within the bell, spread her wings for a soft landing at the last moment and rolled out from underneath. "What, not even going to make a belfry joke?" she asked as she landed, not quite meeting his eye.

"Didn't occur to me, actually," Cat Noir chuckled. "So, I see you've been busy."

"There's a lot of bad luck in this city," Fu Fu replied, staring down at the streets. The people looked like ants, scurrying in every direction. "A hero's work is never done, I suppose."

"Very true," Cat Noir said. "So you figured you'd head for a particularly unlucky address?"

"Fours are bad news," Fu Fu agreed. "Besides, needed to clear my head. It really is quite beautiful here."

"We can talk about it _after_ the crisis. So, what's the issue? Tornado? Car crash?" Cat Noir asked.

"It's not that specific," Fu Fu chuckled. "I just have a feeling that something's about to happen here. I know it's not much to go on, but I haven't been wrong yet."

"Yeah, you've had a pretty good track record, and that's just today," Cat Noir said, reaching for his staff. "Just let me call Ladybug so she can help-"

"No!" Fu Fu shouted, before clamping her mouth shut. She still couldn't bring herself to make eye contact. "I-I mean...not yet. Not right now. Let's just...be alone. Together."

As Cat Noir watched, he saw Fu Fu's hands start to tremble and winced. _Hawk Moth must not be happy about that_, he thought, glancing at the light purple glow coming from underneath her mask.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"What are you doing, Fu Fu?" Hawk Moth demanded. "He's right in front of you! Take his Miraculous!"

As the akumatized girl continued to hesitate, though, he grew ever more frustrated. The melodramatic emotions of teenagers were easy prey for his akumas, but their pitiful crushes were nothing short of annoying. Such foolish children, thinking that a little infatuation was the same as real, true love. If only they knew…

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Well, okay," Cat Noir said slowly. "I'm guessing there's something you wanted to talk about?"

"Yes," Fu Fu said, her voice also hesitant. "But it's a secret."

"Don't worry, I won't tell," Cat Noir replied, giving what he thought was a warm smile. _It is really hard to act like this with someone who's not Ladybug!_, he thought. Still, Fu Fu didn't seem to notice.

"Really?" she asked, moving closer. "Not even Ladybug?"

"Y-Yeah," Cat Noir stammered, gulping audibly. "B-but, if you want to be _purr_fectly safe, you could...whisper it…"

Fu Fu's cheeks turned bright red as she basically leapt to Cat Noir's side. "Y-yeah," she murmured, her lips drawing close to Cat Noir's ear. "That would be...nice."

Cat Noir tried to control his breathing as he felt Fu Fu's breath closer and closer, until at last, when she was basically pressed up against him, her lips pursed, and her eyes now, finally, staring directly into his, he reached out to pull her closer. Specifically, he moved his hand slowly up her back, all the while whispering, as quiet as he could, "Cataclysm..."

Just before he could reach the clasp of her necklace, he felt a stinging sensation in his eyes, causing his hand to instead grasp empty air. As he tried to rub the grit off of his face, he was stopped cold by a sharp pain in his stomach, knocking the air out of him. As he doubled over, he saw Fu Fu's left foot planted firmly in his solar plexus. She kicked upward and sent him flying. Eyes frantic, Cat Noir pulled in his right hand, now surrounded by the dark aura of his special ability, and clung to a flying buttress with his left.

He gulped as he stared down at Fu Fu, who was glaring back up at him with eyes that promised nothing short of outright murder. Even worse, he'd dropped his staff when she'd kicked him, leaving it laying on the ground right where Fu Fu was standing. Her right hand was still tucked into her pouch.

"Guess you Parisians are right," Fu Fu snarled. "Black cats _are_ bad luck."

"What…?" Cat Noir wheezed as he clung desperately to the support, trying to catch his breath.

"You overplayed your hand, Cat Noir," Fu Fu continued, grabbing the superhero's staff off the ground. "_Everybody _knows you only have eyes for Ladybug! And you expect me to believe I won you over in less than a minute? I'm not an idiot!"

Furious, she pressed the button on the staff, extending it up, and slammed it into Cat Noir's ribs. He flew into the body of Emmanuel, desperately trying to cling to it with his one unpowered hand. As he slammed into the giant bell, his claws left noticeable scratches in the bronze.

"Besides, my lucky sense is a bit more precise than I let on," she went on, twirling the staff in her off hand. "I could tell something was about to happen, and I was ready to counteract it. Such a shame it had to be you, though."

With a flap of her wings, Fu Fu took to the air, keeping her distance from Cat Noir and his still Cataclysm-charged hand. She swung his staff, but in that moment, he saw an opening and lunged, ready to strike her bag of lucky dust. She was just as fast, though, and threw a handful of the dust directly in his face. Out of nowhere, a pigeon swooped between them, directly intercepting Cat Noir's face. The poor bird landed right across his eyes, and Fu Fu aimed a kick at his groin, catapulting the hero upward.

As he reached the arc of is ascent, he blindly grabbed the closest thing, one of the thick ropes holding up Emmanuel, for support, halting his fall. Unfortunately, however, he had grabbed it with his right hand. In a matter of moments, the tightly woven rope was reduced to black dust, leaving the superhero suspended in midair. Worse, bereft of one of its supports, the bell dropped noticeably, producing a powerful ringing. Cat Noir, so very close to the source of the sound, was nearly knocked out by the force of the chime, made even worse by his subsequent slamming into the floor of the cathedral.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Excellent work, Fu Fu!" Hawk Moth complemented, his mood rising considerably. Perhaps teenagers weren't quite as hopeless as he'd thought. "Now take his Miraculous! The ring!"

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"With pleasure," Fu Fu said as she walked over to the downed hero, currently embedded in the wood flooring and trying to recover his wits. As she reached down to grab his ring, however, she was suddenly stopped by a long cord wrapping around her arm, at the end of which lay a red- and black-spotted yo-yo.

"You've got more than a few bats in your belfry if you think it'll be that easy!" Ladybug shouted, standing on the tower's ledge.

"Oh, even _I _avoided that joke!" Cat Noir groaned, trying to pry himself loose.

Ignoring him, Ladybug planted her feet and gave her yo-yo a solid yank. Fu Fu found herself pulled off-balance, but dug her claws deep into the wood grain beneath her and pitched forward, dragging the cord along with her. The newly-arrived hero behind her was thrown forward, directly into the giant bell. Unlike Cat Noir, though, Ladybug was ready for it, and landed feet-first, bouncing off and swinging down to kick Fu Fu in the chest. The akumatized girl was caught by surprise, but recovered her senses and took to the air, raking her razor-sharp claws at Ladybug from above.

Stuck in the tiny room, Ladybug was forced onto the defensive, spinning her yo-yo to act as a shield. Seizing her chance (and Ladybug), Fu Fu burst free of the string, then grabbed the superhero by one shoulder and prepared to fling her upward, only to be stopped by a sharp pain as a green shield struck the back of her head.

"Sorry to interrupt!" shouted Carapace as he descended from the rafters. "You know us turtles - always late to the party!" As he fell to the ground, he maneuvered around the still-dazed villain and grappled her arms and legs, sending them both plummeting. However, before they could land, Fu Fu managed to rake his calves with her claws, loosening his grip just enough for her to free herself. With a quick twist of her wings, Carapace was sent flying into a wall, while she retained altitude.

However, her respite was short-lived, as Ladybug and Cat Noir pounced at the same time to aim simultaneous punches at Fu Fu's solar plexus. The bat-themed villain managed to block them both with Cat Noir's staff, then flitted higher into the tower room, heading for the ceiling. Ladybug and Cat Noir gave chase, while Carapace, still recovering from the impact, covered them from the floor.

"When did you figure out what I really was?" Fu Fu demanded, glaring down at the heroes. "My ruse was perfect!"

The heroes gave no answer, simply scaling higher, trying to corner the bat in her own belfry.

"Must say, I'm flattered that you considered me worthy of extra heroes," Fu Fu laughed, changing tacks as she stared down at the ground-bound Carapace. "And such a perfect choice! The Turtle Miraculous will keep me safe from misfortune forever!"

"But is that really the life you want?" Ladybug demanded. Cat Noir gave her a boost, and she flung herself directly at the villain, only to narrowly miss as Fu Fu lowered herself. Ladybug slammed into a wall, and clung to what little she could hold. Not missing a beat, she tossed her yo-yo behind her, but Fu Fu swung Cat Noir's staff and caught it. "Cowering and hiding, always dreading what misfortune life will bring next? That's no way to live!"

"Better than not living at all!" Fu Fu replied, swooping down at the assembled heroes. With Ladybug's yo-yo still wrapped around the staff, the heroine was left weaponless as Fu Fu came in for a claw swipe. He foot struck solid metal, though, when Carapace tossed his shield in to intercept. It bounced down, and Cat Noir seized it, then jumped and slammed it into Fu Fu's elbow.

The villain writhed in pain and dropped Cat Noir's staff, complete with Ladybug's yo-yo. Cat Noir threw the shield back down to Carapace, then grabbed his own weapon and unwound the yo-yo, allowing Ladybug to retract it. With a simultaneous nod, Ladybug and Cat Noir struck together again, but Fu Fu played them for fools, closing her wings and dropping down as the two collided in midair. Her mirth was short-lived, though, as a blow to her back slammed her into a wall.

"You've been outfoxed!" Rena Rouge laughed, twirling her flute as she joined the other three heroes, Ladybug and Cat Noir having recovered from their collision.

"It's four against one, Fu Fu!" Ladybug cried. "Still feeling lucky?"

Behind her cowl, Fu Fu's pupils dilated. Her gaze flicked rapidly over each one of the four heroes, her breath coming out in hissing wheezes. She beat her wings nervously, retreating to the highest points of the tower.

"_You haven't lost yet, Fu Fu!"_ Hawk Moth's voice hissed in her mind, a mask of light appearing over her face. _"Retreat, and mount a counterattack! Succeed and the Turtle Miraculous is yours to keep!"_

Fu Fu nodded, unsure, as the mask faded. She flipped upside-down and latched onto the rafters with one foot, then reached into her bag and threw a handful of lucky dust down on the heroes, spinning wildly to spread it around. Ladybug spun her yo-yo like a fan, desperately trying to repel the particles, and Cat Noir and Rena Rouge followed her lead with their own weapons, sending it flying in all directions. However, rather than be frustrated, Fu Fu simply smirked. _Exactly as planned_, she thought, pulling in all the displaced good luck.

As the dust settled in, the room began to weaken. Floorboards that had lasted ages were suddenly infested by termites, and Emmanuel's ropes began to fray. The tower room creaked and groaned all around the heroes, and all four of them backed up to the walls. In the chaos, Fu Fu shrieked with joy, swooping down and seizing something in her claws before flying out the window. Before the others could follow, the room's floor buckled under their weight, and they were sent crashing down into the church below, right into a group of startled tourists.

"Ugh, sorry about that," Rena Rouge apologized, brushing them off. "Next time we'll take the stairs."

"Uh, Carapace?" Ladybug muttered. She pointed up, and the turtle-themed hero gasped and raised his shield.

"Shell-ter!" he yelled. A green force field erupted from his shield over the heroes and tourists, protecting them just as Emmanuel plummeted. Tourists screamed and ran as the enormous bell crashed down over the field and rolled off, smashing through the pews until it coasted to a stop.

"What was that!?" one particularly vocal tourist demanded as the shield went down. "Has Cat Noir gone insane with that Cataclysm!?"

Ladybug glared back at him, but her eyes went wide as she looked around. "Wait, where _is _Cat Noir!?"

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

High above Paris, Fu Fu climbed higher and higher with the cat-themed superhero dangling upside-down from her claws. There was a loud beep as a claw disappeared from Cat Noir's ring.

"That was too close to comfort," Fu Fu muttered as she ascended. "It seems that my fate continues to chase me."

"_Yes, Fate is truly pernicious_," Hawk Moth said, the words echoing through her mind. "_Even with all the luck you have accumulated, still it creeps ever closer. The question is, what do you intend to do about it?_"

"Destroy it before it destroys me," Fu Fu replied firmly.

Cat Noir gasped. "Um, okay, I'm only hearing half this conversation, but _what?!_" he snapped, his eyes wide.

"It's the only way to be safe! This city has given me nothing but bad luck since I've been here; it needs to be cleansed before it can hurt anyone else!" Fu Fu shouted, adjusting her grip on Cat Noir so that she could reach into her pouch. "Hawk Moth is the butterfly; his luck will protect him while all others crumple! And when the city has fallen, I can retrieve and present the rest of the Miraculouses without issue!"

"Huiqing, please! You can't just wipe a city off the map like this!" Cat Noir begged. "This isn't you!"

"My name is Fu Fu, and you have no idea who I am!" the villainess shouted, a fistful of dust clutched in hand. "Now shut up before I drop you!"

"And why haven't you already?" Cat Noir chuckled weakly. "Still crushing hard?"

"Maybe," Fu Fu said, though her face barely flushed. "But it hardly matters; you're harmless now. Your Cataclysm is gone, and in a few more minutes everything else will be too. Then I'll get to see the pretty face behind that mask. One last dance, then I'll tear it apart and rip off that ring at the same time!"

"What do you mean, 'da-aaaaaannnnnnce?!'" Cat Noir said, only to get the gist as Fu Fu swooped up and down, spinning and swooping and generally making Cat Noir want to blow chunks. Ignoring his screams, Fu Fu began tossing handfuls of lucky dust to the winds, sending it flying all over Paris.

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Back in his tower, Hawk Moth turned to his faithful assistant, Nathalie Sancouer, who was standing next to him holding a tablet. "Are all the preparations in place?"

"Yes," Nathalie said calmly, tapping various images on her screen. "The structural foundations of the house are still stable, the protective chamber is being kept separate from the main power grid, and the automatic defenses are under direct control; no risk of them going off unexpectedly."

"Good, good," Hawk Moth replied as he gazed out the window, seeing a faint glint of red in the distance as Fu Fu made her way over the city. "And my son?"

"Last I checked, Adrien was practicing his Mandarin in his room."

"Good. If Robustus has taught me anything, it is that in this world, it pays to make your own luck."

"Indeed," Nathalie agreed. "Though I should point out, your stocks are up considerably."

"Also excellent, but be wary," Hawk Moth warned. "We have no idea what form the rebalancing will take, so don't put all our eggs in one basket."

"Of course, sir," Nathalie said, turning her attention back to the tablet.

Meanwhile, Hawk Moth continued to stare out his window. "Luck is truly fickle, but perhaps it shall finally favor my endeavors today…"

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"Hey, a euro!"

"Oh, _there _are my keys!"

"OH MY GOD! I JUST WON THE LOTTERY!"

As Ladybug, Carapace, and Rena Rouge rushed down the street, it seemed that everybody was having a lucky day, from meet-cutes to narrowly avoiding fatal accidents. Lucky dust the green of powdered jade was raining down from the sky, and Parisians were almost drunk on their own happiness.

"The heck is going on?" Carapace asked as the three heroes chased after the quickly disappearing silhouette of Fu Fu. "I know the lucky dust fixed things, but these people are going nuts!"

"It's probably the high concentration!" Rena Rouge replied, deftly leaping over a couple kissing in the middle of the road. "She's been collecting luck all day, and now she's spilling it all out at once! It's driving them mad!"

"And not just that. The actual quality of the luck is increasing rapidly," Ladybug muttered, biting her lip. "At this rate, the entire city will be drenched in good luck in a matter of minutes!"

Carapace stepped out in front of her, giving her a funny look. "You know, you never actually explained _why_ this is a bad thing. I mean, we trust you, but knowing the mechanics would probably be helpful."

Ladybug sighed. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry, was in a rush earlier. Basically, the world runs on balance; light and dark, good and evil, good luck and bad luck, things like that. What Fu Fu's doing is destabilizing that balance tremendously, artificially boosting the good luck in Paris while siphoning away the bad. Her plan is to use the bad luck to cause an absolute catastrophe once it reaches critical mass, but at this rate…"

"The balance might outright break before she can even do anything," Rena Rouge concluded grimly. "Having her control the scope of that much bad luck is awful enough, but letting it run rampant?"

"We'd be lucky if Paris was still standing at the end, which means that it _definitely_ won't be!" Carapace gasped.

"And that's assuming it'll stop at Paris. It might go even further than that," Ladybug added. "Still, one thing at a time. Now that you're up to speed-"

A piercing beep interrupted Ladybug, and a segment of Carapace's bracelet changed color.

"-have you got any ideas?" she continued.

"Honestly? We're in crisis mode, so I'd go for the Lucky Charm," Rena Rouge said bluntly.

"What?" Ladybug gasped. "But the balance-"

"Is already falling apart!" Rena Rouge interrupted. "Go for broke, girl!"

"Besides, right now we have no ideas," Carapace added. "With the Lucky Charm, we'll have a starting point!"

Ladybug sighed, but then looked at them and said, "Fair enough. Let's do this!"

With a bright smile on her face, Ladybug tossed her yo-yo high into the air, shouting, "Lucky Charm!" The yo-yo spun in midair, and a red and black object materialized beneath, then fell directly into Ladybug's open hand. It was-

"A picture frame?" Ladybug said, raising an eyebrow. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Seriously?" Carpace said, rolling his eyes. "This is _far_ from the weirdest thing you've summoned!"

"Look, I don't get on _your_ case about your thought process, you leave mine alone!" Ladybug snapped. "Still, you have a point. I can think of some uses for a picture frame…"

"Wait! There's something inside," Rena Rouge pointed out.

Ladybug paused, turned the frame over and gasped. "Yeah," she said with a sly grin, "that might help."

Carapace and Rena Rouge smiled back. "You've got a plan, don't you?" Carapace asked.

"I'm getting there," Ladybug replied. "But we still need to find Fu Fu."

Just then, a familiar news van drove by.

"Hurry up, Jean!" the familiar voice of Nadja Chamack cried from within. "Reports are flooding in of Fu Fu and Cat Noir at the Eiffel Tower! This is ratings gold!"

The three heroes just looked at each other and shrugged. "Well, the balance isn't broken yet; might as well take advantage while we can," Rena Rouge mused as they took off running.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Free as a bird, Fu Fu flitted around the most famous landmark in all of Paris, dragging Cat Noir beneath her as she siphoned ribbons of glowing bad luck from the entire city. She could feel the power swelling within her, more than she could have ever dreamed. So much bad luck weaponized, there was no limit to what she could do!

"Say goodbye to your precious city, Cat Noir!" she cried, swooping and twirling to keep him off-balance.

"You can't do this, Fu Fu!" Cat Noir shouted back. It seemed that most of his good luck was in not yet throwing up.

"Nobody but Hawk Moth tells me what I can and can't do! He is the embodiment of luck! He will protect me!" Fu Fu chanted, her voice the lilting sing-song of a child.

_Okay, she's gone off the deep end, but keep her talking!_, Cat Noir thought, even as another toe print vanished from his ring. "Protect you from what?" he asked aloud.

Surprisingly, this actually had an effect on Fu Fu; her eyes widened, her lips trembled, and she pulled Cat Noir in close, pressing him against her like a stuffed animal. "From death...from bad luck," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "They're coming...they killed my father...they chased me down here...they're always there, waiting for the one mistake, the one missed omen…"

"Um, okay, but may-" Cat Noir began, only to be interrupted as Fu Fu squeezed him tighter.

"But not after today!" she shouted, cackling maniacally. "After today, luck shall follow my orders, obey my will! And in the name of the Butterfly and the Bat, I will spread good luck throughout the world! And all those who fail to accept Hawk Moth's rule shall be torn apart by the power I possess! Just as your beloved Paris is about to be!"

_Okay, seriously, what the heck is going on here?!_ Cat Noir thought. _This is too unstable, even for an akuma! There's gotta be something I'm missing…_

Just then, Cat Noir noticed something odd about Fu Fu's pouch of lucky dust. It was flickering green and black, and was moving around as though it contained live snakes. Turning his head up, his jaw dropped as he saw flecks of the same light in Fu Fu's eyes.

_It's all the luck! It's tearing her mind apart!_ Cat Noir thought, utterly horrified. _If we don't stop her soon, there might not even be a Huiqing _left_ after all this!_

Now desperate, Cat Noir did his best to gather both his wits and his balance. Without a better plan, he swung his staff and nailed the villain directly in the shin. She shrieked and dropped him, sending him tumbling hundreds of feet. Desperately, he reached out for the only nearby structure - the famed tower of Gustave Eiffel. At his current velocity, he skidded and slid as he desperately tried to catch the metal with his claws, but without ripping off his fingers, but the tower was so smooth, and he was so dizzy, it seemed that he was doomed to roll and fall straight to the street below. Worse, Fu Fu had dived after him, and it was all he could do to dodge her grasping claws. The only thing slowing her down was that she was still harvesting every bit of bad luck in the city.

Suddenly, Cat Noir found himself enveloped in a deep softness, halting his fall abruptly. The sudden stop knocked the wind out of his lungs, but the soft surface made that the worst of the damage. As he turned his head, he saw that he was lying atop a large pile of mattresses, with Ladybug, Rena Rouge, and Carapace standing near the base.

"Well, if it isn't the lady of my dreams," Cat Noir wheezed, staring down at Ladybug.

"Told you those mattresses would come in handy!" Rena Rouge said proudly.

"You would have said that about _anything_ we found in that truck," Carapace sighed. "Still can't believe we got them over here so quickly."

"Look, the balance is going haywire, so let's just not question it," Ladybug answered. "Anyway, look alive, people! We've got incoming akuma!" she added, pointing up at the now furiously descending Fu Fu.

"You got a plan, Bugaboo?" Cat Noir asked, staring at the red and black picture frame in Ladybug's hand.

"Not yet, but I'm about to," she replied. She started looking around, taking everything in as her senses went into overdrive. The Eiffel Tower. Rena Rouge. Cat Noir's staff. Carapace's shield. Dinghy attached to a houseboat floating on the Seine. She gave special attention to the photo in her hand, examining its displayed scene.

"Okay, got it!" she shouted, casting her eyes skyward. "Cat Noir, I need your staff."

Cat Noir stared back, but shrugged and handed over his weapon. "Whatever you say, Milady," he said.

"Great, now stand over there and wait for my signal!" Ladybug ordered, before turning to Rena Rouge and handing her the picture frame. "In a couple seconds, I want you to use Mirage to show her this, then join _him_," she continued, nodding to Carapace as she handed him Cat Noir's staff, "on the Couffaines' houseboat. Use the staff and your shield to-" She whispered the rest in Carapace's ear, and he smiled.

"And I'm guessing you'll be fighting her off while we get set up?" Carapace said, rolling his eyes. "Always gotta nab the spotlight."

"Hey, it's-" Ladybug started, only to be interrupted by a loud beeping coming from her earrings as one of the four remaining dots vanished. "No time, just get in position!" She turned to Cat Noir, who was standing nearby, and shook her head. "No, wrong spot! A little to your left! Hurry!"

With that, Ladybug quickly jumped on top of the mattress tower and, using the momentum, shot up to Fu Fu's level, spinning her yo-yo. "It's over, Fu Fu! You can't handle all _four_ of us, can you?"

"I have all the luck at Paris at my disposal! Even the number of death cannot touch me now!" Fu Fu snarled, adjusting her position to swoop towards Ladybug. However, she was interrupted by the sound of flute music. She tried to turn her head, but Ladybug distracted her with a yo-yo to the face, sending her looping through the air.

Meanwhile, on the houseboat, Rena Rouge's flute began to glow. A ball of light appeared at its end, and with a whisper of "Mirage!", the ball was sent flying over to Cat Noir, who had adjusted his position and was sitting down. In a flash, several new shapes appeared from the void, shining as if under a spotlight.

Back up above, Fu Fu was shaking her head to clear it while Ladybug kept bouncing atop the mattress tower. After a few seconds, Fu Fu turned her glare toward the heroine. "That's it! I've had it with this!" the akuma shouted, sparks of green and black lightning shooting from her eyes. With one hand, she reached into her pouch, which began squirming even more fiercely. "It all ends here! This city, my fear, all of it! I don't know how it will end: Flood, storm, riot, meteor, but it'll be right here and now!"

"Wait!" Ladybug shouted, leaping at the villain and latching on to her. "Are you sure there's _nothing _here worth saving? Nothing at all?"

"What are you talking ab-" Fu Fu started to say before her eyes lowered to the ground, and her train of thought abruptly crashed to a halt. She stared at the scene before her; a happy young Chinese couple was lounging on a blanket, sharing a picnic with Cat Noir. He plucked a piece of illusory dim sum and mimed eating, smiling at the couple. "M-Mom? Dad?" she asked, her voice quiet.

Ladybug smiled. "Yes, they're here. They're waiting for-" she started to say, only to stop as she felt Fu Fu's body start to tremble. "...Huiqing? Are you alright?"

"_Huli jing_…" Fu Fu muttered, her eyes hidden by her cowl.

"Huh?" was all Ladybug had time to say before she was suddenly blown off of Fu Fu's body by a tremendous burst of wind.

"_HULI JING!_" Fu Fu screamed, her eyes now completely filled with green and black, her pouch on the verge of bursting from how much it was moving. "How dare you...how dare you! Taking my memories? Casting your spells? ONCE I FINISH WITH THIS CAT, I WILL TEAR YOU APART!" she continued, before folding her wings and diving at Cat Noir, who was looking up at her with a terrified expression.

_Okay, this is bad!_ Ladybug thought as she started to fall. _Still, at least she's heading down there!_ "Rena Rouge, Carapace, now! Flip the dinghy!" she shouted as she started twirling her body, trying to reduce her momentum.

To their credit, the two horrified heroes only took a second before leaping into action, with Rena Rouge planting Cat Noir's thankfully extended staff underneath the dingy and over the fulcrum of Carapace's shield, and both of them flipping off of the houseboat's deck. As she landed on the staff, the end bent under their weight, lifting the dinghy up slightly, only for the boat to go flying when Ladybug landed atop Rena Rouge's shoulders.

Cat Noir, still staring at the mad-with-rage akuma, managed to catch a glimpse of the flying vehicle and leapt out of the way. Fu Fu, however, was blind to anything but her target, and so took the full force of the boat on her back, knocking her to the ground amid a large plume of dust.

Right in front of the dinghy, Cat Noir was panting as Ladybug, Rena Rouge, and Carapace rushed over to him. "Did...did we get her?" Carapace asked, trying to peer through the dust cloud, a third segment disappearing from his bracelet.

"Let's hope so," Rena Rouge said, one segment disappearing from her necklace. "Because I don't think we've got anything left."

As the dust cleared, the dinghy was fully revealed, as was Fu Fu, who seemed as furious as before. Fortunately, though, it didn't matter; the dinghy had managed to land across the center of her back, pinning her wings, and therefore her arms, to the ground. She was trapped.

The defeated villain stared up in tears as the four heroes gathered around her. She tried in vain to shift the weight of the boat on her back, but the damage to her back had been too great. She could only glare and weep as Ladybug grabbed her necklace, yanked it off, and dropped it on the ground. "I think the moral here is that we make our own success," she said simply before bringing her foot down.

The bat pendant broke in two under the weight of the superhero's foot, and a black butterfly flew out. Smiling, Ladybug twirled her yo-yo. "No more evildoing for you, little akuma," she chuckled, tossing the weapon, which had opened on one side. "Time to de-evilize!"

The yo-yo snapped shut when it reached the butterfly, trapping the insect within, and with a flick of the wrist Ladybug returned her weapon to her hand. She pressed the side of the yo-yo and it opened back up. The butterfly, now pure white and harmless, flew out.

"Bye-bye, little butterfly," she said, waving the butterfly away before taking the picture frame from Rena Rouge's hand. With a single deft motion, she tossed it into the air, shouting, "Miraculous Ladybug!"

The picture frame stopped in midair, glowing with a bright white light, before it suddenly burst apart into a wave of shimmering ladybugs, which proceeded to fly throughout the entire city of Paris. Wherever they passed, citizens recovered from their lucky dust induced frenzy, coming to themselves with a brief start. The ladybugs swarmed around Notre Dame, repairing the flooring and restoring Emmanuel to its rightful place. Thankfully, apart from the cathedral, the actual damage to the city was minor, so it wasn't long before the ladybugs reconvened at the Eiffel Tower, pausing only to move the dinghy off of Fu Fu and into the water before vanishing.

"Pound it!" all four heroes cried in unison, bumping their fists together.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Back in his tower, Hawk Moth seethed with rage. "You may have been fortunate this time, Ladybug!" he snarled as his window started to close, "but soon enough my lucky day will come!"

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Well, at least that was an easy cleanup," Cat Noir said, turning to look at the city. Meanwhile, a black mist surrounded Fu Fu for a moment, then quickly faded, leaving the prone form of Huiqing, still in tears, but now looking both distressed and very confused.

"(Wha-what happened?)" she asked in Mandarin, slowly pushing herself up to a seated position and looking around. "(Last thing I remember I…)," she trailed off before gasping. "(Did-did I…?)"

"Get akumatized?" Cat Noir finished. In all the exhaustion, nobody noticed that he had understood Mandarin. "Yeah, but it happens to the best of us. Here, let me help."

The hero walked over to Huiqing and extended a hand, which the Chinese girl used to pull herself to her feet. "...Thank you," she said quietly, switching to French. She had a slight blush on her cheeks, but seemed otherwise downcast.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Carapace asked, tilting his head. "Like he said, akumatization's not that big a deal. Heck, you didn't actually hurt anyone, so I'd say that's a plus."

"Besides, even if we did, Ladybug fixed everything up, just like she always does," Rena Rouge chuckled, only to stop when she saw tears forming in Huiqing's eyes.

"...Not everything," Huiqing said, softly beginning to cry. "She...didn't fix me."

"Huiqing-" Ladybug started, only for the girl to interrupt her.

"I thought that she would fix me, that she would wave her hand and make fears vanish," Huiqing choked out, her accent getting stronger. "But I still feel this weight on my chest, still feel scared. It's taking everything I have not to run from the four of you. I want to cover this whole park in lucky dust and fly away. Nothing's changed."

"Well, maybe not nothing," Rena Rouge said, quietly. "I mean, you're not running, right?"

"No…" Huiqing sniffled.

"Then that's progress." Carapace said firmly. "There's no magic solution to getting over stuff like this; believe us, we know. But right here, right now? You just took a step forward. And that's huge."

"You can do this, Huiqing," Cat Noir added with a smile. "It'll be hard, and it'll take time, but you're stronger than this fear, 100% _purr_-cent."

In spite of herself, Huiqing giggled, blushing slightly.

"Here, maybe this will help too," Ladybug said, smiling. Gently, carefully, she walked over and opened up her yo-yo, showing Huiqing an image within. It was the same picture that her Lucky Charm had created; of Huiqing, only a couple years ago, on a picnic with her parents. Her father, a short, balding man, was playfully feeding her mother a dumpling. All three of them were smiling together, possibly for the last time. "Things might be bad now, but they weren't always. And they're bound to be better again. Your mother loves you, and I'm sure that wherever he is, your father does too. They'll always be looking out for you, helping you as you move past this fear. That's something that no bad luck can ever take away."

Finally smiling, Huiqing wiped the tears away and reached for the yo-yo. When Ladybug didn't pull away, she brought the picture in for a closer look. "I'd almost forgotten that day," she said softly. "Thank you," she continued, looking at each of the heroes. If her gaze lingered a few seconds longer on Cat Noir's face, no one brought it up. "Thank you all. You really are...Paris' good luck charms."

Turning away from them, the girl started to dash across the river, only to pause, look back, and consciously slow down her pace, walking back in the direction of the Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie.

There was a moment of silence between the four, finally interrupted by the beeping of their Miraculous.

"Guess I'd better get going," Cat Noir sighed. "Good seeing all of you - especially you, Bugaboo."

With that, he pounced onto a low beam of the Eiffel Tower, then off onto a rooftop and kept leaping until he was out of sight.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

One final bit of good luck awaited Cat Noir when he arrived home; his bedroom window was slightly ajar, enough that he could open it and pull himself in. As he moved from the window to the rock-climbing wall, his ring gave a final beep as his transformation faded, leaving behind only Adrien Agreste, Plagg resting in his jacket pocket.

Before he could climb down, though, he heard his door open. "Adrien? How are your-?" Nathalie asked as she walked in, halting at the sight of Adrien. She sighed, breaking her emotionless facade for the first time all day. "Adrien, I understand that your Mandarin lessons can feel repetitive, but your schedule has been structured this way for a reason. If you continue to show a lack of focus, I'm afraid I will have to inform your father."

Adrien opened his mouth, then paused. "...You know what, Nathalie? I think I'll just tell him myself," he said, leaping off the wall and walking past her. He made his way to his father's chamber and opened the door, revealing a tall, slender, pale, and elegant man wearing a white suit, seated behind a desk.

"Adrien?" Gabriel Agreste asked, getting up from his seat and walking over to his son. "Is everything alright?"

Without a word, Adrien hugged his father. Gabriel, cold, collected, and so very, very intimidating, froze for a moment before relaxing and returning the hug.

"What brought this on?" Gabriel asked.

"Just...just glad you're here," Adrien replied.

No more words were said as the two shared in the warmth of their embrace.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"It seems that the Ladyblog was correct in their assertion that our new hero Fu Fu was, in fact, an akuma," Nadja Chamack reported, her face staring out into the Dupain-Cheng family's living room. "And unfortunately, she had an influence that even the Miraculous Ladybug couldn't fix. All around town, the people helped by Fu Fu have been experiencing a wave of bad luck. Empty gas tanks, skinned knees, holes in pockets, and more have been reported. In addition, while a record half a million winning lottery tickets were issued over the course of the day, the sheer volume means they are now only worth a total of twelve Euros each. Don't be too upset, though, viewers; Ladybug herself posted an announcement on the Ladyblog, promising that there should be no inherent danger. What's more, the run of misfortune should end within twenty-four hours. All told, a very good result for an akuma attack. This is Nadja Chamack saying, cancel those wagers, people, and don't be bemused, it's only the news."

Sabine laughed as she clicked off the television. "I'm guessing she didn't notice the cracked camera lens," she said, prompting Tom to join in.

"Or the sweat stains on her jacket," he chuckled, before turning to face Huifang, who was sitting next to them on the couch. "So, how are you feeling?"

"How should I be feeling?" she asked ruefully. "My daughter just told me exactly what she's been feeling these past few months, after those same feelings turned her into a supervillain. It's hard to hear that what I thought was helping was just making things worse."

"You're only human, Huifang," Sabine said, placing a hand on her cousin's shoulder. "And you were grieving too. It only makes sense that you'd want to move on."

"Moving on is one thing. Ignoring and downplaying my daughter's feelings because they were inconvenient is quite another," Huifang sighed.

"Don't be that harsh on yourself," Tom said. "Huiqing didn't seem mad; she seemed relieved to be telling you."

"She's a strong girl and a good one," Sabine agreed. "And I can tell she loves you. It'll be hard, but I know you two can get through this."

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"So you're feeling a little better?" Marinette asked, sitting at her desk. Huiqing, laying on Marinette's bed, nodded.

"Yeah, a little," she said, idly stroking Tikki, who was staying as still as possible. Marinette suppressed a wince.

_Sorry Tikki, but I couldn't really say no!_, she thought. "And what about the restaurant?" she asked, cautiously. "You said something about, 'reinterpreting the omens'?"

Huiqing nodded. "Yes. The fish part was obvious; I came to near the water, and there was a boat nearby. Ladybug probably had to tip it over to beat Fu Fu."

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Marinette agreed. "But what about the others?"

"The death omens? Well, they were right, in a way. In multiple ways, actually. When I became Fu Fu, I became someone completely different. It's not a stretch to say that while I was her, I was technically dead."

"That's...incredibly morbid," Marinette said, blanching. "You _did_ say there were multiple ways, right?"

Huiqing chuckled. "Yes, and this way is much cheerier. Today, small as it may seem, I took some steps forward. I traveled around Paris, I spent time with friends; I even was around four of Paris's heroes for a few minutes. My old self, the self that was bound to her superstitions, is gone. Now, I'm moving forward; slowly, perhaps, but surely. Similar to the Death in Tarot."

"If you say so," Marinette giggled. "You're way more versed in that stuff than I am."

Suddenly, there came a knock on Marinette's door. The door swung out, and Sabine poked her head into the room. "Sorry to interrupt, but I figured you might be hungry after your long day," she said, lifting up a plate holding a sandwich.

"Mom, please don't climb up here one-handed," Marinette said as she walked over to take the plate. "Especially after all this."

"Oh, I'm not worried. I have my good luck charms right here, after all," Sabine replied, smiling brightly as she climbed down the ladder, shutting the door behind her.

Marinette, blushing, walked over to Huiqing and held out the plate. "Here. You need it more than I do."

"Thanks," Huiqing said, reaching out before halting. The sandwich was cut into quarters. Reflexively, she reached for her lucky dust, but then stopped. After a moment, she sighed, shrugged her shoulders, and picked up a segment.

Seeing this, Marinette smiled. _It really is a new beginning for you_, she thought as Huiqing took a bite. _And you'll definitely get through it. You've got luck on your side. And, more importantly, you've got family._

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**PA2: And that'll do it, folks! I know this was more traditional than our last project, but after the insanity that was Frau Marchen, we figured a return to form would be a good way to transition.**

_MP: Frau Marchen wasn't that much of a deviation. It was just longer._

**PA2: And structured like an epic. I consider it a fairly notable deviation.**

_MP: Anyway, that's it for this story. We hope you enjoyed it, and we curse you with intestinal distress if you didn't. We're already working on a new Ladybug fic, too. It's called Mr. Director. So, if you haven't already got me on author alert, you should consider it. Oh, and don't forget to fave and review _this _story, too!_

**PA2: And if you liked Huiqing, don't worry. She's too good a character to let languish in one fic for the rest of time. We'll be making use of her again at some point, so look forward to that!**

_MP: TTFN! Ta-ta for now!~_


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